Sycamore Partners Abandons Attempt To Acquire Chico's FAS : Report

(RTTNews) - private-equity firm Sycamore Partners abandoned its attempt to buy Struggling women's apparel retailer Chico's FAS, Inc. (CHS), after failing to line up financing for the deal on acceptable terms, the Wall street Journal reported citing a person familiar with the matter.

Earlier in this month, the Journal had reported that Chico's FAS was in advanced talks to be acquired by private-equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Sycamore was said to be seeking financing for what could be the largest leveraged deal of the year that could be valued at about $3 billion.

Sycamore has already been in trouble recently when it failed to line up funding on acceptable terms in its bid to acquire another apparel and accessories retailer Express, Inc. (EXPR). The deal talks were terminated in late January after pursuing it for nearly seven months.

Chico's sells private label women's casual clothing and related accessories through more than 1,500 stores in the U.S. and Canada. It brands include Chico's, White House Black Market, Soma Intimates and Boston Proper.

Chico's has been performing miserably for the past eight quarters, missing earnings or revenue analysts estimates in each of them amid the overall challenging environment for brick and mortar retailers.