The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has reached a settlement with the bankrupt Sequential Brands Group, ending a pending civil suit against the American licensing company. Based on its reported assets and liabilities in the bankruptcy case, Sequential will have to pay no penalties. The SEC had accused Sequential of taking too long to write down goodwill after its share price fell in the last quarter of 2016. It finally took a charge of more than $300 million at the end of the following year. Sequential consented to the SEC’s latest judgement without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint. As recently reported, Sequential has agreed to sell its active brands portfolio – consisting of And1, Avia, Gaiam and SPRI – to Galaxy Universal, the owner of Hi-Tec and Tony Hawk, for $330 million in an auction of its assets.
