MINNETONKA, Minn., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marked the closing of the sale of substantially all assets of Polaroid, including the Polaroid brand, intellectual property, inventory and other assets, to a joint venture led by Gordon Brothers Brands, LLC ("GBB") and Hilco Consumer Capital, L.P. ("HCC"). The Federal Bankruptcy court for the district of Minnesota had earlier approved the sale on April 16, 2009.

Polaroid's new owners also announced today that former Polaroid Executive Vice President & General Manager - Americas, Scott W. Hardy, has been named President of Polaroid. Hardy and the majority of existing, Minnesota-based Polaroid employees will remain with the company and its affiliates. The company will continue to maintain its headquarters in Minneapolis and also have offices in Boston, New York and Toronto.

"With the successful closing and a new management team in place, we can move forward with executing our full-scale global licensing and distribution strategy for wholesale, direct-to-retail and e-commerce businesses," stated Scott Hardy, President of Polaroid. "We have already signed agreements with several major licensees, representing a range of innovative product categories."

Stephen Miller, Co-President of Gordon Brothers Retail Group and Jamie Salter, CEO of Hilco Consumer Capital, jointly added, "With Scott at the helm, an established team behind him, and a number of key licensees already in place, we are on track to expand the Polaroid brand globally while leveraging its pioneering heritage."

Founded in 1937, Polaroid's unique "innovation-made-simple" brand platform has global appeal across a wide demographic and can be expanded across numerous products, such as digital cameras, digital photo frames, digital HD camcorders, flat panel televisions, portable DVD players, and more.

Always on the cutting edge of the latest "instant" technologies, Polaroid is also responsible for the world's very first ZINK™ (Zero Ink™ Printing Technology) enabled printing device. The Polaroid PoGo™ Instant Mobile Printer offers the capability to print and share 2"x3" borderless, color images from a camera cell phone or digital camera in under a minute. In 2009, Polaroid unveiled a digital camera with the same printing capabilities, the palm-sized PoGo Instant Digital Camera.

For licensing inquires, contact:

Scott Hardy, President, [email protected] 952.936.5170

Jordan Goodman, Licensing Manager, [email protected] 416.682.5683

For other inquires, contact:

Mary Dean, [email protected] 617.422.7867

Diane Pedreira, [email protected] 416.682.5693

About Polaroid:
Founded in 1937, Polaroid (www.polaroid.com) is one of the most widely recognized and innovative consumer brands in the world. Beginning with polarized sunglasses, evolving into instant film, camera and camera accessories, and expanding well beyond into flat panel televisions, portable DVD players, digital photo frames, digital HD camcorders, waterproof digital cameras and more, Polaroid's unique "innovation-made-simple" brand platform has global appeal in today's market.

About Hilco Consumer Capital, L.P.:
Hilco Consumer Capital, L.P. (www.hilcocc.com) specializes in private equity investments in branded companies with high target market awareness. HCC looks to acquire retailers, wholesalers and intellectual property in this space and seeks to build significant, additional value through innovative product development, marketing, merchandising and licensing strategies. Current portfolio brands and companies include House of Marley, Caribbean Joe®, Ellen Tracy®, Halston®, Tommy Armour Golf®, RAM Golf®, The Sharper Image®, Linens 'N Things® and Bombay®. HCC is a unit of The Hilco Organization (www.hilcotrading.com), a Chicago-based, international provider of diversified financial and operational services, including business asset valuations, asset acquisition and disposition services, M&A services and retail consulting.

About Gordon Brothers Brands, LLC:
Gordon Brothers Brands, LLC is a member of the Gordon Brothers Group family of companies. Gordon Brothers Brands purchases, sells, and licenses brands and other intellectual property. Current portfolio brands and companies include Rugged Shark®, The Sharper Image®, Linens 'N Things® and Bombay®, among others. Founded in 1903, Gordon Brothers Group (www.gordonbrothers.com) is a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in retail and consumer products, industrial and real estate sectors. Gordon Brothers Group maximizes value for both healthy and distressed companies by purchasing or selling all categories of assets, appraising assets, providing debt financing, making private equity investments and operating businesses for extended periods. Gordon Brothers Group conducts over $50 billion in annual transactions and appraisals.