Sycamore Partners to Buy Hot Topic for $600 Million

Hot Topic, a mainstay of teenage mall shoppers, has rung up a big sale â€" to a private equity firm.

The clothing retailer, with more than 600 locations, agreed on Thursday to sell itself to Sycamore Partners, the owner of Talbots, for about $600 million.

The deal is the latest for Sycamore, whose takeover of Talbots last year gave it ownership of the troubled women’s wear chain. Hot Topic, whose wares skew decidedly more to the punk end of the style spectrum, gives the buyout firm a younger target consume..

Under the terms of the deal, Hot Topic shareholders will receive $14 a share, a 30 percent premium to Wednesday’s closing price.

“We are pleased that this transaction will allow us to deliver positive results for our shareholders,” Lisa Harper, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “In addition, we are very excited about the future growth for the company and know that Sycamore Partners will provide great resources and expertise to us as we operate as a private company.”

Shares in the retailer have risen 22 percent over the last 12 months.

Hot Topic was advised by Guggenheim Securities and the law firm Cooley. Sycamore was advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the law firms Winston & Strawn and the law office of Gary M. Holihan.