Bravo Sports, a portfolio company of Transom Capital and St. Cloud Capital, has acquired skateboard maker Sector 9 from Billabong International, a portfolio company of Oaktree Capital Management and Centerbridge Partners.
Sector 9’s products include boards, wheels, apparel and protective gear under the Sector 9 label and trucks under the Gullwing brand. Additionally, Sector 9 sells performance/racing wheels under the RAD (Rider Approved Designs) brand. Sector 9 was started in La Jolla in 1993 by co-founders Steve Lake, Dave Klimkiewicz, Dennis Telfer, and Tal O’Farrell. Billabong International acquired Sector 9 in 2008. Today the company is based in San Diego (www.sector9.com).
“Sector 9 is one of the most recognizable and innovative skateboard brands on the market today,” said Leonardo Pais, CEO of Bravo Sports. “We are proud to add the company to Bravo Sports’ growing specialty division.”
Bravo Sports products include scooters, skateboards, skates, helmets, gloves, graphics, racewear for motocross and mountain bike riders, as well as sun shades and canopies. The company’s products are sold through the mass merchant, sporting goods and big box retail channels. Transom Capital acquired Bravo Sports in June 2015 when it merged the company with its existing portfolio company One Industries – a motocross and mountain bike products company – which it had acquired in July 2013. Bravo Sports was founded in 1965 and is headquartered near Los Angeles in Santa Fe Springs, CA (www.bravosportscorp.com).
“Sector 9 is the perfect fit in our strategy of creating an action sports lifestyle division,” said James Oh, principal of Transom Capital. “We are pleased to have worked with Billabong International to successfully carve-out the Sector 9 business.”
Transom invests in buyouts and turnarounds of companies with EBITDAs from $0 (turnaround situations) to $20 million. Sectors of interest include consumer products, media & entertainment, and industrial. Transom is headquartered in Los Angeles with an additional office in Seattle (www.transomcapital.com).
St. Cloud Capital, which invested in Bravo Sports in June 2015, makes both control and non-control investments in lower middle-market companies that have annual revenues between $10 million and $150 million. The firm typically invests from $5 million to $15 million per transaction in senior secured debt, subordinated debt, and preferred and common stock. St. Cloud Capital is based in Los Angeles (www.stcloudcapital.com).
Billabong International is a wholesaler and retailer of hard and soft goods in the board sports sector. The company distributes its products through board sports retailers and through its branded retail outlets. Oaktree Capital Management and Centerbridge Partners acquired a large equity interest in Billabong during a restructuring of the company in January 2014. Billabong (ASX: BBG) is headquartered south of Brisbane in Burleigh Heads, Australia (www.billabong.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 7-13-16
