News briefs - Corporate and M&A
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News briefsIndoor pickleball franchiser raises its valuation
Pickleball Inc. has led a Series B round of funding for The Picklr, a North American franchise of indoor pickleball courts, with free leagues, tournaments and clinics. The company has now brought in $9 million, raising its valuation to about $59 million. In a little more than a year, The ...
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News briefsOrthoLite expands European hub
OrthoLite, the insole and footwear solutions brand, has expanded its European hub, OrthoLite Europa (OEU), in Almansa, Spain. The expansion enhances capacity, innovation and local-for-local insole production solutions for OrthoLite’s European brand partners, the company explained. The factory will add more automation, expand lean line production, and modernize the facility ...
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News briefsTeijin Frontier and Save the Duck jointly establish Save the Duck Japan
The Italian Trade Agency (ITA) has reported that the Japanese company Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd. founded the joint venture Save the Duck Japan Ltd. based in Tokyo together with the Milan-based clothing company Save the Duck, a brand of animal-free outerwear. Kenichi Haruta of Teijin Frontier was appointed president. The ...
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News briefsHas Shein already filed for an IPO?
We have been waiting for Shein to file for an IPO somewhere. According to Reuters, however, the filing appears already to have happened, in early June. It was done confidentially and in London. It seems, Reuters writes, that Shein has “updated China’s securities regulator officially about its change of listing ...
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News briefsItalian sportswear firm Macron opens US office
Bologna-based teamwear brand Macron has opened a US office in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Giovanni Maruzzi, the company’s Chief Sales Officer and CEO of Macron US, and Angelo Marino, Macron’s Director of Communications, attended the official ceremony. Macron’s new US headquarters has an area of approximately 2,000 sqm. It includes a ...
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News briefsEchelon acquires ThriveX
Echelon, which produces connected fitness machines and sells subscriptions for on-demand classes, has acquired ThriveX, a producer of app-controlled compression boots, sauna blankets and cold-immersion products. ThriveX serves both the B2C and the B2B markets, with gyms, hotels and other such businesses among its customers. According to Echelon’s CEO, Lou ...
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News briefsSuperdry shareholders vote in favor of restructuring plan
Superdry’s shareholders said yes to the proposed rescue plan at an extraordinary general meeting on June 14. The vote follows the creditors’ approval of the plan on June 10, with 99 percent of them voting in favor of measures included in the plan, said the fashion company. Superdry will now ...
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News briefsPlanet Fitness secures $800m for strategic refinancing
Planet Fitness, Inc. announced that it has completed its previously announced refinancing transaction. The new series of securitized notes consists of $800 million of Class A-2 senior secured notes issued in two tranches: Class A-2-I senior secured notes with an expected redemption date of five years, a principal amount of ...
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News briefsCaleb Williams launches new investment firm
American football quarterback Caleb Williams is launching an investment firm named 888 Midas. The new entity will target “like-minded associations and select private equity, venture capital and real estate funding opportunities,” 888 Midas said in a statement. Williams is the first player selected in the 2024 National Football League (NFL) ...
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News briefsComing next year: a new women’s basketball league
A professional league for women’s three-on-three basketball will debut in January 2025 – and in Miami, to judge by its placeholder website. Called Unrivaled, the league was co-founded by WNBA players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. According to Sportico, it has just undergone a round of seed ...
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News briefsLotto becomes first athletic brand to co-own a professional pickleball team
Lotto has announced a strategic partnership with the Brooklyn Aces, joining owners Kevin Durant, Rich Kleiman, Drake and Michael B. Jordan. The Italian footwear and sportswear supplier will become the first athletic brand in the ownership group of a professional pickleball team. Additionally, Lotto branding will be integrated into the ...
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News briefsTaylorMade inaugurates expanded golf ball plant in South Korea
TaylorMade Golf has announced the official opening of its expanded golf ball plant facility at TaylorMade Golf Ball Korea (TMBK). It is the company’s third golf ball plant globally, joining its facilities in Liberty (South Carolina) and Taiwan. TaylorMade created TMBK following the acquisition of Nassau Golf Co. Ltd ...
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News briefsWIT Fitness’ founders return to the brand
The original founders of specialist training brand WIT Fitness, Sam Kitching and Daniel Williams, are returning to the brand. Frasers Group acquired WIT Fitness in January 2024 out of administration. Kitching and Williams have now bought back a majority stake through Friday&, where Kitching serves as Managing Partner. Frasers will ...
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News briefsR-Gol acquires Unisport to forge global football merch empire
R-Gol, backed by Innova Capital, has acquired Unisport from Nordic Capital. The merger combines R-Gol’s strong presence in Central and Eastern Europe with Unisport’s influence in Northern and Western Europe, aiming to shape a leading force in the football retail sector. With a projected combined revenue exceeding €200 million in ...
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News briefsNYC-based investment manager acquires Outdoor Voices
New York City-based consumer-focused investment manager Consortium Brand Partners (CBP) has announced the acquisition of Outdoor Voices, an athleisure lifestyle brand founded in 2013 by Tyler Haney, also from New York City. This is CBP’s second acquisition, following the announcement of a majority stake in Reese Witherspoon’s fashion and lifestyle ...
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News briefsSports Direct to introduce membership program with new omnichannel app
Sports Direct is set to launch a new membership program next month, featuring an “enhanced” omnichannel app, as part of its strategy to deepen customer engagement and enhance digital capabilities across its 500 UK stores. David Clark, Chief Customer Officer at Sports Direct’s parent company, Frasers Group, announced the initiative ...
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News briefsNike implements job cuts at European headquarters
Nike is, according to Bloomberg, implementing layoffs across its European headquarters as part of a global strategy to reduce operational costs by $2 billion. The job cuts, impacting roughly 2 percent of its workforce worldwide, have already seen around 750 employees dismissed from its Beaverton, Oregon headquarters. The reduction extends ...
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News briefsPadel Galis founder invests in Auro System
Francisco Pérez Galisteo, founder and CEO of Padel Galis, has bought a majority stake in Auro System, according to the International Padel Cluster (CIP). Auro produces an attachment for pádel and tennis racquets that both helps corrects a player’s grip and dampens the racquet’s vibration. Padel Galis is a maker ...
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News briefsTennis-Point finds new owner
According to SGI USA, Fromuth Racquet Sports, a Pennsylvania-based racquet sports wholesaler and retailer, has reached an agreement to acquire e-tailer Tennis-Point on undisclosed terms to expand into the tennis e-commerce space. Tennis-Point will initially operate as an independent company and will retain the same name and contact details. All ...
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News briefsInter Milan changes hands
Funds under the management of Oaktree Capital have swept in to take control of the Serie A football club Inter Milan. The club’s previous majority owner, Suning Holdings (headquartered in Nanjing, China), has failed to repay the outstanding balance on a loan from Oaktree that matured on May 21. That ...
