Summary block

Dutch circular denim brand Mud Jeans, after filing for bankruptcy in August 2026, has been jointly acquired by Horizon Capital and investment firm N5 Holding, with the deal amount undisclosed. N5 Holding is the investment vehicle of fashion entrepreneur Nick de Ronde Bresser and will hold the brand, with Horizon Capital participating as a co-shareholder. Brand founder Bert van Son will return to support a scaled-down operating strategy. The acquisition allows Mud Jeans to restart under a new shareholder structure rather than ceasing operations entirely.

Key points

  • Mud Jeans filed for bankruptcy in August 2026 and was subsequently acquired by Horizon Capital and N5 Holding, with deal terms undisclosed.

  • N5 Holding, controlled by fashion entrepreneur Nick de Ronde Bresser, becomes the brand's majority holder, with Horizon Capital serving as co-shareholder.

  • Founder Bert van Son returns to take part in operations, driving the brand's restart at a reduced scale and continuing its circular denim model.

Body

Dutch circular denim brand Mud Jeans has found new buyers after filing for bankruptcy. Horizon Capital and N5 Holding have taken over the brand, with the specific transaction amount not publicly disclosed. N5 Holding is the investment vehicle of fashion entrepreneur Nick de Ronde Bresser and serves as the brand's main holder this time; Horizon Capital joins as a co-shareholder.

Mud Jeans had previously filed for bankruptcy in August 2026. After the acquisition is completed, the brand will not disappear entirely but will restart operations under a new ownership structure.

Founder Bert van Son will return, working with a scaled-down strategy. The brand has long positioned itself around circular denim, building recognition through jeans leasing and recycling old pairs into new ones. The founder's return indicates that the new shareholders want to preserve the core of this circular model while streamlining the business to a more sustainable scale.

This event reflects the real challenges facing the circular fashion industry: turning environmental ideals into profit remains difficult. Mud Jeans' bankruptcy and acquisition highlight the gap between mission and profit. Whether the brand can survive with the support of new investors tests whether sustainable denim can work as a business, not just remain an ideal.

For the used clothing and textile recycling industry, attention to secondhand clothing, recycled fibers, and circular business models continues to rise in markets such as the EU, but the Mud Jeans case shows that after closed-loop models such as leasing and recycling-remanufacturing gain support at the legal and capital levels, they still need to find a scalable profit path, otherwise they can easily be forced into restructuring or sale when funding chains break.

Source: Dealroom.co | Horizon Capital, N5 buy bankrupt Dutch denim brand Mud Jeans · Originally published on 2026-10-03