What happened to Sheertex: the 'unbreakable' tights sold to AYK after raising $255 million
The rip-resistant tights brand had raised over $250 million. In February 2026 the company behind it was sold to AYK International: the losses, the layoffs and what is left of the brand today.
For a few years Sheertex was the name for tights "that don't ladder": sheers you could pull with your hands without tearing, sold online at high prices and pitched as a revolution. In February 2026 the Canadian company behind them, SRTX, was sold to AYK International, a Québec hosiery firm, after years of losses. Here is what happened, with the numbers from the court filings, and what the brand sells today.
The sale
On 17 February 2026 SRTX announced a definitive agreement with A.Y.K. International, "a Canadian hosiery-focused company", at the end of a strategic review. At the same time it filed a notice of intention under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, which, BetaKit explains, lets companies restructure without filing for bankruptcy. The price was not disclosed.
"We have long admired Sheertex," AYK chief executive Dan Abitan said in the release. AYK pledged to support the continuity of the brand and to use its technology, but did not take on the lease for the Pointe-Claire factory near Montréal, nor some of the machinery. The Superior Court of Quebec approved the sale in late February, The Logic reports, despite opposition from at least one shareholder, and the deal closed shortly after.
The numbers
From the court filings, as reported by BetaKit:
| Founded | 2017 |
| Capital raised | about $255 million in debt and equity |
| Peak valuation | $350 million |
| Revenue 2022 / 2023 / 2024 | $35.8M / $45.5M / $27.9M |
| January–October 2025 | $7.6M revenue, $30.1M net loss |
| Losses since 2023 | over $128 million |
| Assets / liabilities | $129.4M / $166.4M |
| Cash at the strategic review | $4.5 million |
The main cause, according to the court application, was high manufacturing costs, "the principal impediment to its profitability". PwC, the trustee, contacted 138 potential buyers and received four offers.
The people
In February 2025 SRTX had about 350 employees; it cut 40%, then in October half of the roughly 200 left, BetaKit writes. At the time of the sale around 30 remained, and AYK planned to keep fewer than ten. The founder, Katherine Homuth, had left in 2025: in a December 2024 post she wrote that SRTX was losing over $30 million a year and was "not even close" to breaking even. In October 2025 she submitted a bid to rejoin.
What Sheertex sells now
The site is live and the catalogue continues. The sheer rip-resistant tights cost $49, in black and several nude shades: the newest, Cappuccino and Mocha, were added in May 2026. There are also thigh-highs at $29 and opaques. In September 2026 new products appeared that have little to do with tights: adhesive bras, nipple covers and fashion tape.
The sheer black tights that made the brand's name. Photo: Sheertex.
Cappuccino nude, one of the shades added in 2026. Photo: Sheertex.
The lesson
Sheertex bet everything on a single problem, the ladder, and a big promise. To avoid ladders without spending $49 a pair, the right denier and a few habits help: we gathered them in how to stop tights from laddering. For how tights are made, see what tights are made of; for another brand changing course, Wolford's turnaround numbers.
