The parent company of fashion retailer Forever 21 has merged with JCPenney to form a brand new company called Catalyst Brands.

Sparc Group, which is also over the brands Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand, and Nautica, announced the merger on Thursday with JCPenney and the department store chain's exclusive private brands, including Stafford, Arizona, and Liz Claiborne.

“Catalyst Brands brings together the rich heritage of six unique brands with modern energy and a new vision for success. The word ‘catalyst’ reflects our drive to accelerate innovation and energy and amplify the impact of this powerhouse portfolio. Together, we bring scale, expertise, and broad appeal to customers across America,” Marc Rosen, the former CEO of JCPenney and new CEO of Catalyst Brands said in a news release.

Catalyst Brands is launching with more than $9 billion of revenue, 1,800 store locations, 60,000 employees and $1 billion of liquidity, the company said. Other shareholders a part of the joint venture include shopping malls owner, Simon Property Group; global investment firm, Brookfield Corporation; brand management company, Authentic Brands Group; and clothing retail company, Shein, according to the release.

In addition to the merger, Catalyst Brands said it sold the U.S. operations of footwear and clothing brand Reebok and is "exploring strategic options for the operations of Forever 21."

Merger:Getty Images, Shutterstock agree to merge in $3.7 billion deal. Here's what to know.

JCPenney filed for bankruptcy, Forever 21 was bought out of bankruptcy in 2020

Authentic Brands, which owns more than 50 consumer brands and the likeness rights or estates of celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe, bought Forever 21 out of bankruptcy in February 2020, Bloomberg reported. The company then licensed it to Sparc to run through a fleet of around 500 stores, some of which were leased by Simon Property, the outlet said.

JCPenney filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 and was bought by Simon Property and Brookfield Asset Management Inc., another shopping mall owner, for $800 million, according to Bloomberg.

Who will lead Catalyst Brands? Where will it be headquartered?

Catalyst Brands will be headquartered at JCPenney's corporate location in Plano, Texas, while the company will have additional offices in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, the release reads.

With Rosen becoming the CEO of Catalyst Brands, there will be three brand new CEOs who will oversee the company's portfolio and report to him.

The company also said it plans to use data-driven and AI technology to "enhance its supply chain and inventory management capabilities and to deepen consumer relationships."

“Our relationships with more than 60 million customers and the deep data we have create a compelling consumer value proposition across our brands. We can design a more personalized shopping experience, offer unified loyalty and credit card programs, and ultimately, cross-sell more effectively. That’s one example of the many benefits we’ll see in this combination,” Rosen said.

Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected].