NEW YORK and CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif., June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Sycamore Partners today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Hot Topic, Inc. (“Hot Topic” or the “Company”). The transaction is valued at approximately $600 million.

“Hot Topic and Torrid are both leaders in their categories, and we are excited to have both brands as part of our portfolio,” said Stefan Kaluzny, Managing Director of Sycamore Partners. “Sycamore Partners is very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Lisa Harper and her team to invest in the continued development of both the Hot Topic and Torrid retail brands.”

Lisa Harper, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Hot Topic, said, “We are very happy to partner with Sycamore Partners. Their knowledge and expertise in the consumer and retail markets is precisely what we need to optimize both the Hot Topic and Torrid brands.”

As a result of the completion of the merger, the common stock of the Company is no longer listed for trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

Guggenheim Securities acted as financial advisor to Hot Topic and Cooley LLP acted as its legal counsel. Winston & Strawn LLP and the Law Offices of Gary M. Holihan, P.C. acted as legal counsel to Sycamore Partners.

The Hot Topic transaction is the fourth investment by Sycamore Partners, which has more than $1 billion in capital under management. Previous transactions include the acquisition of a controlling interest in Mast Global Fashions from Limited Brands, Inc., the formation of Pathlight Capital, LLC and the acquisition of The Talbots, Inc.

About Hot Topic

Hot Topic, Inc. is a mall and web based specialty retailer operating the Hot Topic and Torrid concepts, as well as a new test retail concept, Blackheart. Hot Topic offers music/pop culture-licensed and music/pop culture-influenced apparel, accessories, music and gift items for young men and women. Torrid retails on-trend fashion apparel, lingerie and accessories inspired by and designed to fit the young, voluptuous woman who wears size 12 and up. Blackheart offers an expanded collection of dark, edgy, sexy lingerie, accessories and beauty products. As of February 2, 2013, the Company operated 618 Hot Topic stores in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, 190 Torrid stores, 5 Blackheart stores, and Internet stores hottopic.com, torrid.com and blackheartlingerie.com.

About Sycamore Partners

Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York specializing in consumer and retail investments. The firm has more than $1 billion in capital under management. The founders of Sycamore have a long history of partnering with management teams to improve the operating profitability and strategic value of their businesses. They work with companies they believe have significant growth potential, particularly when given the capital and outside expertise they need to succeed. For more information, please visit www.sycamorepartners.com.

Contact:

For Hot Topic and Sycamore Partners:
Michael Freitag or Blair Fasbender
Joele Frank
212-355-4449

Or

Jennifer Vides
Hot Topic
jvides@hottopic.com
626-839-4681 x2970

SOURCE Sycamore Partners