Sperry shoes sold by Wolverine World Wide to Authentic Brands Group

Wolverine World Wide has sold Sperry to brand management firm Authentic Brands Group and Canadian retailer the Aldo Group, the company announced Thursday.

The deal will generate $130 million, which Wolverine plans to use to pay down debt, it said.

Wolverine originally acquired Sperry in 2012 from Payless ShoeSource owner Collective Brands in a $1.23 billion deal that also included Saucony, Stride Rite and Keds. 

The terms of the partnership between Authentic and Aldo weren’t immediately clear. The two companies already work together, with Aldo helping Authentic run brands like Roxy and Brooks Brothers.

Wolverine, which runs a portfolio of apparel and footwear brands that includes Merrell, Hush Puppies and Sweaty Betty, said in May it was seeking strategic alternatives for Sperry after it realized the investments the segment needed would be better served in other parts of its business. 

“It just became apparent that Sperry was going to continue to require investment that was going to take away from where we think the upside is,” Wolverine’s then-CEO, Brendan Hoffman, said on a call with analysts in May after the company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings. 

He said the decision would allow Wolverine to put more resources behind expanding Merrell’s lifestyle business, extending Saucony’s reach beyond its core active and lifestyle consumers, and stabilizing Sweaty Betty’s home market in the U.K. and Ireland. 

Wolverine’s decision to sell Sperry comes as retailers look to streamline their businesses and focus on growth drivers by carving out their underperforming assets as they navigate an increasingly uncertain economy. 

In November, Calvin Klein’s parent company, PVH, sold a trio of lingerie and intimates brands – True & Co., Warners and Olga – to Basic Resources for $160 million. Walmart, meanwhile, offloaded Moosejaw, Bonobos and Eloquii in a series of…