Marie Claire

Background

Marie Claire, founded in 1907 in Vilafranca del Cid (Castellón), was one of Spain’s most iconic hosiery and knitwear manufacturers. After more than a century of operations, the company entered insolvency in the 2020s following prolonged financial distress.

Production was carried out in a 40,000 m² industrial facility. Due to its size and several failed takeover attempts, the insolvency attracted widespread media attention and became one of Spain’s most high-profile industrial bankruptcies. Following liquidation, the Bankruptcy Administrator initiated the sale of the movable assets.

PIPM identified an opportunity to acquire the full machinery portfolio and apply an individual asset divestment strategy.

Equipment highlights

The site comprised a fully integrated, industrial-scale textile production line with thousands of machines, including LONATI, BARMAG, SANTONI, TAKATORI, RPR and MATEC equipment, as well as dyeing, finishing and auxiliary installations. The portfolio consisted mainly of well-maintained, high-end European machinery suitable for immediate redeployment.

Transaction

PIPM was selected as preferred bidder after submitting the highest offer and acquired the movable assets directly from the insolvency estate.

Upon completion, ownership and operational control transferred to PIPM, enabling immediate execution of the divestment strategy. The transaction involved extensive legal and administrative coordination, which was successfully managed by PIPM. Rather than a bulk exit, PIPM opted to sell the machines individually to domestic and international end-users.

Procedure

PIPM implemented a phased and controlled process, including on-site asset identification and inventory creation, market-based valuation, targeted international sales and marketing, individual negotiated sales, coordination of dismantling, logistics and site management in close cooperation with the Bankruptcy Administrator. This approach ensured continuous sales activity while maintaining full operational control of the site.

Result

The process attracted a broad international buyer base and enabled an orderly site clearance. The entire project—from acquisition to full clearance—was completed in under five months, despite involving thousands of machines, demonstrating PIPM’s capability to manage complex industrial projects in insolvency situations.