Hasta La Ideas

Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi has sold his licensing business—think the IsaacMizrahiLIVE QVC range, not his vastly underrated Bergdorf-level collection—to Xcel Brands, a freshly formed brand licensing and management company headed by Robert D’Loren. New York-based Xcel, which will debut as a publicly traded company through a deal with a shell company called NetFabric Holdings, valued the sale of Mizrahi’s brand at $31.5 million, nearly half of which ($13.8 million) is in the form of Xcel stock. The designer is staying on as chief designer, and up to $32.7 million in additional cash or stock is up for grabs over the next four years in earn-out provisions. “This is a spectacular opportunity for our brand,” said Mizrahi in a statement issued Friday announcing the deal. “We’ve spent nearly a year working closely with Bob D’Loren and look forward to joining him at Xcel. I’m thrilled to be such a significant shareholder in the company and believe that we are poised for growth.” And that means looking beyond QVC. According to Xcel management, new licensing agreements are in the works for various Mizrahi-branded apparel, footwear, and home lines to launch at better retailers beginning next fall.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.