True Religion sold in $835 million deal

The Vernon-based jeans maker, which has been talking about a possible sale since last fall, will be acquired by the private equity firm TowerBrook Capital Partners. Purchase price works out to $32 a share, which is a lukewarm 8.7 percent above True Religion's closing price on Thursday. Then again, the company has lost some of its shine from earlier years, what with operating margins narrowing to 16.7 percent last year from 33.2 percent in 2005. Still, the brand remains well known and so acquiring the company at a relatively cheap price might make sense. TowerBrook has a diverse portfolio that includes Rave Holdings, the movie theater chain, and the St. Louis Blues hockey franchise. From DealBook:

True Religion, which, like many of its competitors is based in Southern California, was among the fastest growing of these brands, fueling the demand for the perfect pair of frayed, ripped, or faded jeans. It justifies its premium prices by using high-quality denim and having workers hand finish the pants with unique stitching or patterns. The company was started in 2002 by Jeffrey Lubell, who as a teenager growing up in New York would bleach bell-bottoms and embellish his favorite pairs of jeans with leather and denim patches, according to its Web site. He says of the company's name: "There's only one real religion and that's people. And all the people in the world wear jeans."