Ownership profile
Who owns Forever 21?
Forever 21's U.S. stores were wound down in 2025 after its operating company (F21 OpCo, LLC) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time; the Forever 21 brand and trademark are owned by Authentic Brands Group, a privately held brand-management company itself heavily backed by major private equity and institutional investors including BlackRock, CVC Capital Partners, and General Atlantic.
Ownership profile
Forever 21
F21 OpCo, LLC (U.S. operating entity, in Chapter 11 liquidation); Forever 21 IP owned by a subsidiary of Authentic Brands Group
Evidence (16)
A subsidiary of Authentic Brands Group holds the Forever 21 intellectual property and licenses it to the operating entity; this IP ownership is unaffected by the 2025 U.S. bankruptcy.
https://www.fashiondive.com/news/forever-21-creditors-probe-ip-sale-authentic-brands-group-bankruptcy-court/745528/Authentic Brands Group confirmed it took 100% ownership of Forever 21's IP at some point after early 2020, after initially sharing it with Simon Property Group and Brookfield.
https://www.fashiondive.com/news/forever-21-creditors-probe-ip-sale-authentic-brands-group-bankruptcy-court/745528/F21 OpCo, LLC — the U.S. operating company for Forever 21 — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 16, 2025 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, with plans for an orderly wind-down and liquidation of its ~354 U.S. stores.
https://bondoro.com/forever-21/In December 2024, JCPenney acquired SPARC Group Holdings LLC, rolling Forever 21 and other banners (Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand, Nautica) into Catalyst Brands.
https://bondoro.com/forever-21/SPARC Group was majority-owned by Simon Property Group and Authentic Brands Group (ABG) prior to its acquisition by JCPenney in December 2024.
https://bondoro.com/forever-21/At the time of the 2025 bankruptcy filing, F21 OpCo was owned by Catalyst Brands, an entity formed on January 8, 2025 through the merger of Forever 21's previous owner SPARC Group and JCPenney.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/03/17/fast-fashion-retailer-forever-21-files-for-bankruptcy-.htmlThe legal name of the U.S. operating entity is F21 OpCo, LLC, with a registered address at 3880 N. Mission Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90031.
https://bfkh-026.dx.commercecloud.salesforce.com/s/forever21/us/privacypolicy.htmlGeneral Atlantic made a $500M follow-on investment in ABG in June 2023, bringing its total invested capital in ABG to nearly $2 billion.
https://www.generalatlantic.com/media-article/authentic-brands-group-announces-500m-primary-follow-on-investment-from-general-atlantic/ABG's other significant shareholders include General Atlantic, Leonard Green & Partners, Simon Property Group, GIC, Brookfield, and Lion Capital, all holding equity positions as of 2021.
https://corporate.authentic.com/press-releases/cvc-and-hps-to-acquire-ownership-stakesCVC Capital Partners and HPS Investment Partners invested $3.5 billion in ABG in a deal that closed November 2021, valuing ABG at $12.7 billion enterprise value.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authentic_Brands_GroupIn February 2020, ABG, Simon Property Group, and Brookfield Property Partners bought Forever 21 out of its first 2019 bankruptcy for approximately $81 million, with ABG and Simon each holding 37.5% and Brookfield holding 25%.
https://corporate.authentic.com/press-releases/abg-forever-21-acquisition-finalizedAuthentic Brands Group is a privately held company backed by major PE and institutional investors. BlackRock Long-Term Private Capital became its largest shareholder in 2019 via an $875 million investment.
https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bswjw9fxgode0kzl4dts/portfolio/blackrocks-new-long-term-private-equity-fund-lands-first-dealBrookfield sold its stake in Forever 21 in 2021 for $63 million, leaving Simon Property Group and ABG as owners.
https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/stocks/who-owns-forever-21/The current Forever 21 website's Terms of Use names BrandX.com, Inc. as the operating company — suggesting a post-bankruptcy website operator transition following liquidation.
https://www.forever21.com/pages/terms-of-useForever 21 now operates online only (via a relaunched forever21.com, operated post-liquidation under BrandX.com, Inc.) and through JCPenney, with international locations continuing under licensees.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_21In January 2025, a consortium including CVC Capital Partners, General Atlantic, HPS Investment Partners and Leonard Green & Partners was in talks to buy BlackRock's stake in ABG, with the stake valued at $3 billion or more.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-10/blackrock-is-in-talks-to-sell-stake-in-sperry-owner-authentic-brands-groupWhat's uncertain
- The U.S. physical retail operations (F21 OpCo, LLC) were fully liquidated through the 2025 Chapter 11 bankruptcy process; the brand itself continues to exist via ABG's IP licensing to international operators and online.
- The current forever21.com Terms of Use names 'BrandX.com, Inc.' as the operator, not F21 OpCo, LLC — suggesting the website was sold or relicensed post-liquidation; the exact new licensee/operator could not be fully established.
- ABG's exact ownership percentages among its many investors (BlackRock, CVC, General Atlantic, etc.) are not publicly disclosed; its status as a private LLC means no SEC filings are available for independent verification of exact stakes.
- The Bloomberg report (January 2025) about BlackRock selling its ABG stake to other existing investors had not been confirmed as closed as of the research date; BlackRock may or may not still be the largest shareholder.
- Catalyst Brands (the post-SPARC/JCPenney merger entity) itself has a complex, multi-party ownership structure involving Simon Property Group, ABG, and others; Forever 21's operational entity within Catalyst has been fully wound down.
- International Forever 21 operations (Mexico, online, and other markets) continue under separate licensee arrangements with ABG and were not part of the 2025 U.S. bankruptcy; their ownership structures were not fully investigated.
- Sources range from 2019 to April 2026; the situation is highly dynamic given the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.