Hot Topic To Be Sold For $600 Million

Reuters are reporting that Hot Topic is set to be sold to for $600 million to Sycamore Partners, the owner of Talbots.

An excerpt from the article can be found by clicking read more.

"Apparel chains such as Hot Topic that cater mainly to teenage shoppers have struggled with a sales slowdown as its core customer base has much less discretionary income in a weak economy.

California-based Hot Topic, known for its music and movie merchandise, saw unprecedented demand for apparel based on the Twilight movie series in 2009, helping it post its biggest full-year revenue of $761.07 million and making it one of the top performers in the teen retail industry that year.

However, sales have been on a gradual decline since then and the company reported 2012 sales of $697.9 million.

Hot Topic's revenue in the past three quarters have missed Wall Street estimates.

Hot Topic Chief Executive Lisa Harper and top shareholder Becker Drapkin Management LP have signed agreements indicating they support the deal, Hot Topic said in a statement.

Harper and Becker Drapkin together hold about 8.9 percent of the Hot Topic shares."