By Dave Sebastian

KKR & Co. is taking a stake in brand manager Galaxy Universal LLC, which is buying active-division brands from bankrupt licensing business Sequential Brands Group Inc. for about $330 million, the companies said.

The deal adds the brands And1, Avia, Gaiam and SPRI to the portfolio of Galaxy, which is owned by private-equity firm Gainline Capital Partners. Sequential Brands, a New York-based company that owns and licenses consumer brands, filed for bankruptcy in August and moved to sell assets, as a big debt load and the Covid-19 pandemic made business difficult.

KKR led the debt financing of Galaxy's acquisition of the brands and is making the investment in Galaxy through certain private credit managed accounts, the companies said.

Sequential Brands has canceled the auction of its assets and identified successful bidders, including Galaxy, according to a court filing Thursday. The purchase price for the active-division assets includes $55 million in cash, the issuance of debt of Galaxy of $227.5 million and the assumption of certain liabilities, the filing said.

The purchase price also includes issuance to Sequential Brands' term B lenders of Series A units of Galaxy equal to 11.3% of outstanding Series A and B units, valued at $50 million. KKR and Apollo Global Management Inc. have in a past filing been identified as term B lenders to Sequential Brands. That means KKR and Apollo will own about 11% in Galaxy after the deal, with KKR owning most of the stake, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Pop artist Jessica Simpson and her family struck a deal to buy a 62.5% stake of her namesake fashion line that they don't currently own for $65 million in cash from Sequential Brands, according to the filing.

Sequential Brands also struck a deal with Centric Brands LLC for the Joe's Jeans line, according to the filing. The purchase price includes a cash portion of $48.5 million and the assumption of certain liabilities, the filing said.

Galaxy this spring completed its acquisition of brand-management firm Apex Global Brands, which includes Hi-Tec, Magnum and Tony Hawk.

The companies expect the deal to close by mid-November. A bankruptcy court must approve the sales.

Houlihan Lokey Inc. was Galaxy's financial adviser, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP was its legal adviser. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC was Gainline Capital Partners' placement agent. Province was KKR's financial adviser, and King & Spalding LLP was its legal adviser. Stifel Financial Corp. and its affiliate Miller Buckfire were Sequential Brands' financial advisors, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP was its legal adviser.

--Becky Yerak contributed to this article.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com