New Era Cap, a portfolio company of ACON Investments, has acquired ’47 Brand, a privately held sports lifestyle brand.
47 Brand is well-known for its caps and hats, which feature team logos from major sports leagues and collegiate teams. The company also sells apparel, T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, jackets, and pants, and accessories including scarves, gloves, socks, and bags that are all branded with team logos. 47 Brand is an official licensee of Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NASCAR, over 900 collegiate programs and many international football clubs.
47 Brand was founded by twin brothers Arthur and Henry D’Angelo, 12-year-old Italian immigrants who started selling sports memorabilia on the streets of Boston in 1947. In 2010 the company changed its name from Twins Enterprise to ‘47 Brand and today is headquartered near Boston in Westwood, Massachusetts. The company is led by President Dominic Farrell and four sons of Arthur D’Angelo who all hold VP positions.
“Today’s announcement marks a major milestone for ’47 and is a testament to all we have achieved over the last 75+ years in growing from a single street cart outside Fenway Park to a successful business and premier sports lifestyle brand,” said Mr. Farrell. “New Era’s core values of creativity and self-expression, combined with its league partnerships, international presence and global distribution capabilities make them the ideal partner for us. We are excited by the opportunities to accelerate our growth and expand the international reach of the ’47 brand and bring more premium products to passionate consumers globally.”
New Era Cap designs, markets and distributes over 200 million pieces of headwear and apparel annually. The company’s products are sold in more than 125 countries and include caps and hats; T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, jackets, and pants; and accessories such as bags, backpacks, headbands, and socks.
New Era is led by Chris Koch, its fourth-generation CEO, whose great grandfather, Ehrhardt Koch, founded the company in 1920 in Buffalo, New York. The company entered the sports market in 1932 with its first baseball cap and by 1965 New Era became the exclusive cap supplier to Major League Baseball. Later, New Era secured partnerships with the NFL in 2012 and the NBA in 2016. ACON first invested in New Era Cap in January 2021 and was the company’s first institutional equity investor.
In August 2022, ACON closed a $700 million single-asset continuation fund for New Era that was supported by both new and current limited partners of ACON including Apollo, GCM Grosvenor, Hamilton Lane and Neuberger Berman. In tandem with the close of the continuation fund, Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association became minority owners of New Era.
Upon closing of the ’47 Brand transaction, which is expected by the end of 2024, New Era and ’47 Brand will have combined annual revenues of more than $2 billion.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement to acquire ’47, a company that shares our commitment to making iconic products and delivering premium experiences,” said Mr. Koch. “We have known and respected the D’Angelo family and the ’47 team for many years and have tremendous respect for the business they have built. Our two companies have a shared history, having begun as family businesses dating back generations and transforming through passion and hard work into globally recognized brands.”
ACON invests in middle-market companies in the United States and Latin America. The firm was founded in 1996 and has offices in Washington DC (headquarters) and Los Angeles with international offices in Brazil, Columbia, and Mexico.
Committed financing for the ‘47 Brand is being provided by Jefferies Finance and Truist Securities (as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners), PNC Capital Markets (as co-documentation agent), BofA Securities, JPMorgan Chase, TD Securities, Citibank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
William Blair is the financial advisor to ’47 Brand on this transaction. Goodwin Procter is providing legal services to ’47 Brand and BCLP (Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP) is the legal counsel to New Era.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | June 11, 2024
