David's Bridal Spins Its AI Side Hustle Into a $350 Million Public Company
Pearl, the wedding-planning platform born inside David's Bridal, is going public through a SPAC merger, and the bridal retailer is staying on as a major shareholder.
David's Bridal signed a nonbinding letter of intent to spin off Pearl, its AI-focused wedding platform, into a standalone public company through a merger with K&F Growth Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company. The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2027, values Pearl at $350 million and includes a $75 million private investment round, anchored by a $25 million commitment from David's Bridal's largest shareholder, CION Investment Corporation.
Pearl, which houses the Pearl Planner tool, the Pearl Connect vendor platform, and a digital content network spanning original programming, YouTube, and social, will actually own David's Bridal's intellectual property and brand going forward, then license it back to the retailer. David's Bridal CEO Kelly Cook is expected to run Pearl once the split closes, while staying on David's Bridal's board; the retailer is searching for a new chief executive in the meantime. Pearl projects more than $85 million in revenue growth for 2027 and expects to carry no debt.
It is an unusual order of operations: the tech spinoff born inside a struggling bridal chain ends up the one with the growth story and the public listing, while the stores that built the brand become a shareholder in their own side project. Cook called it a continuation of the "Aisle to Algorithm" strategy she set in motion in 2025; investors will decide whether the algorithm or the aisle is actually worth more.
Source: Retail Dive
Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →
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