David Webb Brand Bought In $11 Million Deal

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jun 14th 2010 at 11:01PM

Around this time last year jewelry company David Webb Inc. filed for Chapter 11. Now the brand has officially exited Chapter 11 after being purchased by a trio of jewelers, Mark Emanuel, Sima Ghadamian and Robert Sadian. All have had extensive experience in the jewelry industry and have worked behind the scenes for other jewelry companies.

National Jeweler reports that the $11 million deal followed a sale hearing held at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York in Manhattan on May 20. The sale included $7.5 million in finished goods. Per the terms of the agreement $2.75 million of the sale proceeds will go toward the debtor's secured claim and another $250,000 would go toward the rental charges incurred. The rest of the proceeds will be held in escrow and disbursed only by further court orders. Last year the brand reported assets of $10.3 million and liabilities of $6.9 million. Gross sales for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, were $13.2 million but total sales for the coming fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 were under $5 million.

The David Webb brand was founded in 1948 by David Webb and Nina Silberstein, and has been owned since 1975 by the Silberstein family. The brand has two retail locations, a flagship store on Madison Avenue in Manhattan and a small store at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. There is also a factory where the brand manufactures its own jewelry. The company has provided jewelry for some of the most legendary jewel connoisseurs in the world including Elizabeth Taylor, The Duchess of Windsor and Princess Grace. David Webb pieces which often feature animals and naturalistic themes remain some of the most collectible pieces in the jewelry world.

Tags: chapter 11, chapter 11 bankruptcy, david webb, jewelry