Bauer to buy baseball and softball assets from PE-backed Easton-Bell for US$330 mln
Bauer Performance Sports Ltd (TSX: BAU), a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg & Co, has agreed to acquire the baseball-softball business of Easton-Bell Sports Inc in an all-cash transaction valued at US$330 million. The agreement was unanimously approved by both companies' boards of directors and is expected to close in approximately 30-60 days. The Van Nuys, Calif.-based Easton-Bell is a portfolio investment of Fenway Partners and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board, which bought the company for US$400 million in 2006. Founded in Kitchener, Ontario, Bauer is a manufacturer of hockey and lacrosse equipment and apparel. Kohlberg and Roustan Capital acquired Bauer in a corporate carve-out deal in 2008. In 2011, Bauer raised $75 million in an initial public offering.
