News briefs - Corporate and M&A – Page 51
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News briefs
Google could make new concessions to get Fitbit's takeover approved
According to Reuters, the deadline for the approval by European anti-trust authorities of Google’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit has been extended from Dec. 23 to Jan. 8 after Google expressed some readiness to change the concessions it would be willing to make. This came after receiving feedback from a ...
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News briefs
The Bic Sport brand will disappear by year-end
Bic Sport, the leading French surf hardware brand, will soon disappear after more than 40 years. The brand will be renamed Tahe, following its acquisition two years ago by Tahe Outdoors. Bic Sport branded products will not be available after the end of 2020, or earlier if stocks are exhausted ...
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News briefsNew owners and new e-commerce focus for 4FRNT
An American freeride and backcountry ski company, 4FRNT, has been taken over by a group of private entrepreneurs and long-time friends who are said to be bringing a combination of financial resources and experience in the ski industry and digital operations to develop the brand into a more modern e-commerce ...
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News briefs
Zalando acquires producer of 3D virtual bodies
Zalando has acquired Fision, the Swiss producer of a body-scanning app and virtual dressing room. The Swiss company’s system creates 3D virtual bodies and clothing models on a platform called meepl. The Berlin-based European e-tailer already uses customer histories on purchases and returns to generate advice on sizes for 50 ...
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News briefs
Alibaba takes control of Auchan's Chinese grocery chain
Alibaba Group Holding is investing about $3.6 billion in the Sun Art Retail Group, which operates hypermarkets and supermarkets in China. Sun Art’s current chief executive, Peter Huang, will be taking on the additional post of chairman. The deal will raise Alibaba’s stake in Sun Art to about 72 percent. ...
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News briefs
Major fire in Fischer’s Ukrainian ski factory
We have not yet received Fischer Sports’ comments on various press reports regarding a night-time fire that destroyed a large part of its joint venture factry in Ukraine on Oct; 12. According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES), the roof of a large one-storey building at the plant ...
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News briefs
Nautilus sells Octane Fitness
True Fitness Technology acquired Octane Fitness from Nautilus for $25 million on Oct. 14, assuming $3 million in warranty liabilities and $0.5 million in vendor recourse lease obligations. The chief executive of Nautilus, Jim Barr, says in the company’s press release that the sale should “streamline our operations and accelerate ...
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News briefs
Frasers’ shareholders approve a special bonus scheme
Asked to comment on British press reports on the subject, Frasers Group, the owner of the Sports Direct chain of sports shops and other assets, says that its annual general meeting last week approved a special new £100 million (€110m-$129m) bonus program that would be open to the majority of ...
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News briefsMoody’s switches Vista Outdoor’s outlook from negative to positive
Favorable trends in U.S. outdoor activity and Vista Outdoor’s good competitive position with leading brands in various niches of the market have led Moody’s to change the group’s debt rating from negative to positive, following an improvement in its Ebitda margin. Vista’s brand portfolio includes Camelbak, Bushnell, Camp Chef, Primos, ...
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News briefs
A new round of layoffs is reportedly underway at Nike
According to reports in the Portland-based Oregonian newspaper, Nike has launched a new round of downsizing measures. A first phase over the summer involved more than a hundred vice-presidents, says the newspaper. The current phase is now reportedly hitting so-called “S-band” employees – namely some of the most senior and ...
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News briefs
Exer Labs raises new seed capital
Exer Labs, a fitness start-up headquartered in Denver, Colorado, has secured $2 million in further seed capital, bringing it up to $4.5 million. The new investors are GGV, AME Cloud Ventures, Morado Ventures, Range VC, Service Provider Capital, Shatter Fund, and Mike and Albert Lee, the co-founders of MyFitnessPal. ...
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News briefsHead takes over Indigo
Sportsbusiness.at has reported that Head N.V., the holding company of Head Sports, has taken over Indigo, a Munich-based ski producer that filed for bankruptcy protection in April. Indigo is best known as the exclusive licensee of Bogner and its Fire+Ice sub-brand for skis and ski accessories, including helmets, goggles, glasses, ...
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News briefs
New B2B platform by Bollé Brands
Bollé Brands has started implementing a new digital B2B program, consecutively in Europe and the U.S., as a service to its retail clients. It involves a new internet platform with clear product descriptions and intuitive ordering tools, supported by an advanced ERP system and inventory management program. Monitored by the ...
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News briefs
Kering trims its stake in Puma to 9.8%
Kering has completed the sale of about 8.8 million shares in Puma for €655.6 million, further reducing its stake in the company from 15.7 percent to 9.8 percent. Kering held 86.3 percent of Puma’s shares before spinning off most of them to its own shareholders in 2018 in order to ...
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News briefs
PE firm takes control of Gymondo
Oakley Capital Investments, a Bermuda private equity firm, has acquired a majority stake in 7NXT, the Berlin-based parent company of Gymondo and two other businesses, with an investment of €42.6 million and a plan to expand their operations further in Germany and internationally. The sellers are the company’s founder and ...
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News briefs
Elho is reborn with a heritage collection
After an absence of two decades, the Elho brand of skiwear is marking its return with a 1989 Heritage Collection, in time for sale through its own website for the imminent autumn/winter season. The limited edition consists of 15 items of colorful ski and street apparel, launched by a company ...
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News briefs
Iconix sells Starter China
While still looking for strategic options, including a possible sale of the rest of its business, the Iconix Brand Group has announced the completion of a transaction for the sale of a Chinese subsidiary, Starter China, for $16.0 million. The sale covers the rights to the Starter brand in China, ...
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News briefsNorrøna opens factory in Lithuania
Norrøna reveals that it has just opened its own new factory in Kaunas, Lithuania, which has been developed and built since 2018 to make highly functional products with more sustainable premium-quality clothing. “Having our very own factory also allows us to improve innovation and flexibility,” the Norwegian sports apparel brand ...
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News briefs
New lease on life for Karstadt Sports' parent
A local court has lifted Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof’s protection from its creditors, which it had granted in April to the Austrian-owned operator of the Karstadt Sports chain and the Galeria Kaufhof and Karstadt department stores. The move follows a recent settlement with the group’s creditors and the renegotiation of leases ...
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News briefs
Dainese buys TCX
The Dainese Group has announced its takeover of TCX, a well-known Italian brand of motorcycle shoes and boots that can be worn for racing, off-road, urban and leisure purposes, based in Montebelluna. The acquisition will further strengthen the position of the Dainese and AGV brands in the footwear sector. TCX ...
