WHP Global and G-III Apparel Group are positioning themselves for a much stronger presence in the designer space with their deal to buy Marc Jacobs from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

But how well the brand works under the new regime will depend on the details of that deal, which has WHP and G-III owning the intellectual property through a joint venture, while G-III picks up the operating business. 

There are still plenty of question marks. For instance, Marc Jacobs is staying on as creative director, but exactly how much input will he have on the company’s direction and how easy will the arrangement ultimately sit with him? 

That won’t be known until the brand starts to work with its new structure when the deal closes, which is expected in the third quarter. But some specifics were released in G-III’s filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Both G-III and WHP are putting up to $425 million into the J.V. that’s buying the brand. 

G-III tagged its entire investment at about $500 million, which appears to value the brand’s operations at around $75 million. (The brand’s Chinese and Japanese operating businesses will be part of that deal, but plans call for them to be sold.)

That puts the purchase price at around $925 million, give or take a variety of adjustments and other items.

WHP will get to appoint three people to the brand’s five-person board of managers and its chairman and chief executive officer, Yehuda Shmidman, will be the “initial chairman.” G-III will round out the Marc Jacobs board with two of its own appointments. 

Both sides have to hold onto their stake in the JV for three years and, if they decide to sell after that, have to give the other first chance to make the first offer on their stake.

Once the deal is closed, G-III will sign an agreement with the JV for “exclusive license to…the Marc Jacobs brands and related intellectual property…in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Western Europe for the operation of Marc Jacobs-branded retail stores and branded e-commerce sites and the distribution, sale and promotion of specified categories of products, including women’s and men’s apparel, handbags, footwear, swim, small leather goods, luggage and cold weather accessories — through wholesale, branded retail stores and branded e-commerce sites.” 

Presumably WHP, an expert in managing intellectual property, will seek to work its licensing magic in other regions. 

The G-III licensing deal runs through 2041 and automatically renews for 10 successive five-year periods. If all the renewals were to go through, that has G-III churning out Marc Jacobs styles into 2091.

And that’s enough time for the fashion industry to change over completely at least twice.