Hoonigan Files for Bankruptcy, Citing $1.2 Billion in Debt
Ken Block's brand was acquired by private equity in September 2021, then rolled into an aftermarket wheel company. Now, it's filing for Chapter 11.By Fred SmithPublished: Sep 09, 2024 4:40 PM EDT
Hoonigan
Hoonigan, the clothing and lifestyle brand founded by deceased rally driver Ken Block, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, which has been rolled into an existing aftermarket wheel company owned by private equity firm Clearlake Capital, is attempting to discharge $1.2 billion in debts and raise "up to $570 million in new capital."
When it was founded, Hoonigan was effectively Ken Block's lifestyle company. The brand may have been best known as "The Hoonigans," a YouTube channel with some 5.73 million subscribers. That version of Hoonigan was rolled into a high profile "merger" with aftermarket wheel company Wheel Pros. Block died in 2023, about 16 months after the merger occurred; much of the YouTube channel's talent left over the course of the next year and a half.
Eventually, all of the businesses under Wheel Pros were rebranded under the Hoonigan name in October 2023. The modern version of the company includes former Wheel Pros brands like TSW, American Racing, and Rotiform, among other major automotive aftermarket suppliers. The combined company has a staggering $1.75 billion in debts, according to the filing with the court, including the $1.2 billion that the bankruptcy is expected to eliminate.
The bankruptcy does not necessarily mark the end of this iteration of Hoonigan, however. The company's press release calls the move a "strategic transaction" that will help "strengthen financial foundation and support long-term growth." Whether a healthier, more fiscally responsible aftermarket-parts-and-lifestyle-brand conglomerate emerges from the ashes of this Chapter 11 protection filing, however, the Hoonigan brand enthusiasts knew and loved as recently as 2020 seems likely to have changed forever.
