Kanye West Seeks to Buy Streetwear Retailer Karmaloop

03/27/15

This week on The Broke and the Beautiful, Kanye West wants to buy Karmaloop, Parma hits another bump in the road, and U.K. boxer Ricky Burns was declared bankrupt.

In this Dec. 1 file photo, Kanye West performs during the World AIDS Day (RED) concert in Times Square in New York.
Charles Sykes/Associated Press

It might take a little longer than four five seconds, but Kanye West is interested in buying Karmaloop out of bankruptcy. According to Billboard, the hip-hop artist, who is collaborating with entrepreneur Damon Dash, spoke with company founder Greg Selkoe about acquiring the online online streetwear retailer. In a series of Instagram video posts, Mr. West and Mr. Dash spoke of their intentions, saying they wanted to “take over the world” and “create a whole new industry.”

“We just decided to buy Karmaloop,” Mr. Dash added. “We just talked about it—it’s gonna happen.”

The company filed for chapter 11 protection Monday with more than $100 million in debt. It is seeking to borrow $31 million while in bankruptcy to refinance some debt and pay vendors and suppliers. Karmaloop was founded in 1999 and sells more than 400 brands entirely via its website.

The referee of the match–Maurizio Mariani, right–talks with Parma’s Alessandro Lucarelli during at Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma on March 22.
Elisabetta Baracchi/European Pressphoto Agency

Italian soccer team Parma has been in a rut lately, and it hit another bump in the road this week. Days after becoming bankrupt, the Serie A team’s captain was suspended. According to the Associated Press, Alessandro Lucarelli can’t play for three matched after he insulted the referee in last Sunday’s game against Torino (which Parma lost). Mr. Lucarelli does, however, see a light at the end of the tunnel—as the Football Italia blog noted, a sale to U.S. investors could soon be in the cards.

Terence Crawford, left, and Ricky Burns clash during the WBO World Lightweight Championship Boxing match on March 1, 2014, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

Ex- world champion Ricky Burns suffered a TKO this week…after being declared bankrupt. The Daily Mail reported that Mr. Burns, who battled his former promoter in court last year, has nearly £420,000 in debt ($625,000) but only £228 to his name. The former promoter, Frank Warren, claimed he lost £1.8 million in profits last year after Mr. Burns left him. A judge said the 31-year-old Mr. Burns wrongly terminated the contract and ordered him to pay £200,000 in legal fees and £170,000 in damages, according to the Daily Mail.

Write to Melanie Cohen at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @MelanieLisa

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