On February 13, 2026, Atallah Group Inc. (dba SSENSE), the Montreal-based global luxury fashion e-commerce retailer, completed a founder-led buy-out that took the business out of insolvency and preserved its operations. The transaction concluded a sale and investment solicitation process (SISP) run under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), through which the company’s founders acquired its parent, Groupe Atallah Inc.
SSENSE, founded in 2003 by brothers Rami, Firas, and Bassel Atallah, sought CCAA protection in 2025 amid creditor pressure and a challenging luxury retail environment. Through the court-supervised SISP, the Court-appointed Monitor selected a bid submitted by the founders, together with a strategic partner, a leading Canadian multi-family office, to acquire Groupe Atallah Inc., preserving the business as a going concern and retaining a significant portion of its workforce.
The approval was contested. A syndicate of first-ranking secured lenders, including Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Bank of Canada, and The Bank of Nova Scotia, opposed the transaction and sought a liquidation of the business. Following a contested approval hearing, the Superior Court of Quebec dismissed the opposition and approved the transaction on February 4, 2026, weighing the going-concern value and the preservation of jobs against the estimated proceeds of a liquidation. The sale closed on February 13, 2026.
Stikeman Elliott LLP acted as counsel to Atallah Group Inc. (dba SSENSE) with a team that included Sophie Lamonde, Guy Martel, Claire Zikovsky, Danny Duy Vu, Nathalie Nouvet, Francis Blais-Lord, Melis Celikaksoy, Anna Arapovic, Claude-Sophie Boies, and Vinnie Wei Zhang (Restructuring); Frank Mathieu, Jean-Guillaume Shooner, and Danielle Maor (Tax); Serge Levy and Luke Sinclair (Banking); Michael Laskey, David Feldman, and Fiona McGuinty (Regulatory); Charif El-Khouri (Employment); Natasha vandenHoven and Philippe Levac (Benefits); Jonathan Auerbach (Intellectual Property); and Danielle Miller Olofsson (Privacy). Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) acted for Bank of Montreal, as agent, and a syndicate of lenders, with a team that included Isabelle Desharnais, Claudine Millette, Kevin Mailloux, and Alex Fernet-Brochu. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP acted for the Monitor, Ernst & Young Inc., and Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP acted for the Atallah family.