News

Ascena Retail Group buying Ann Taylor and Loft

The Ascena Retail Group is buying the owner of Ann Taylor and Loft in a deal valued at about $2.16 billion.

May 19, 2015

The Ascena Retail Group is buying the owner of Ann Taylor and Loft in a deal valued at about $2.16 billion, the AP reported this week. Ann Taylor will join a group of retail clothing stores owned by Ascena, including Lane Bryant, Justice, Dress Barn and Cacique.

The combined company could better enable it to weather the heavy discounting that has hammered the retail industry as competition heats up, according to the AP report.

"The transaction will make us part of a larger organization with a diversified portfolio of brands focused on the women's apparel market, a strong operating platform and a powerful financial base," Ann Taylor CEO Kay Krill said in a printed statement to the AP.