Gildan Activewear is buying the struggling HanesBrands for $2.2 billion in a deal that gives the basic apparel maker access to household name brands like Hanes and Maidenform.
The companies put the transaction’s valued at about $4.4 billion when HanesBrands' debt is included.
Gildan, in addition to its namesake brand, also makes American Apparel and Peds.
HanesBrands' sales have fallen for three consecutive years and it hasn't turned an annual profit since 2021.
The North Carolina company sold its Champion brand last year to Authentic Brands Group for more than $1 billion. In February Target announced a multiyear strategic partnership with Champion, with products from the brand rolling out in the retailer’s store and on its website starting this month.
“As part of Gildan, HanesBrands will benefit from an even stronger financial and operational foundation that will provide new growth opportunities – helping to power further innovation, a broader product offering and greater reach across channels and geographies,” HanesBrands Chairman Bill Simon said in a statement Wednesday.
HanesBrands shareholders will receive 0.102 common shares of Gildan and 80 cents in cash for each share of HanesBrands common stock. They will own about 19.9% of Gildan stock once the deal closes.
Gildan has been experiencing some upheaval as well. In May 2024 its entire board resigned and appointed the nominees of activist investor Browning West as their replacements. CEO Vince Tyra also stepped down.
Gildan’s headquarters will remain in Montréal after the transaction is complete. The combined company will maintain a strong presence in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where HanesBrands is located.
Gildan said that it plans to conduct a strategic review of HanesBrands Australia, which could include a sale.
The deal is expected to close later this year or early next year. It still needs approval from HanesBrands shareholders.
Shares of HanesBrands dropped nearly 4% before the market opened after spiking 28% Tuesday on rumors of a buyout.
FILE- In this April 21, 2008 file photo, Hanes underwear is seen on display at a store in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, file)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.
An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.
His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.
“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”
Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.
That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.
McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.
“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”
Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”
“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.
This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)
