J.W. Childs Associates has acquired RevZilla Motorsports. As part of the transaction, J.W. Childs has formed a new holding company to own RevZilla and the holding company will also own the equity of Cycle Gear, a provider of motorcycle apparel, parts and accessories, which was acquired by J.W. Childs in January 2015 from Harvest Partners.
RevZilla is an e-commerce retailer of motorcycle apparel, parts and accessories. Products include jackets, helmets, gloves, pants, boots, exhaust systems, and tires. The company was founded in 2007 by Anthony Bucci, Nick Auger and Matt Kull and is headquartered in Philadelphia (www.revzilla.com).
Cycle Gear is a national retailer of helmets, jackets, pants, boots, gloves and other motorcycling related products. The company operates 113 stores in 34 states, has a significant online business, and distributes more than 13 million catalogs annually. Cycle Gear was founded in 1974 and is headquartered north of San Francisco in Benicia, CA (www.cyclegear.com).
RevZilla and Cycle Gear will continue to operate as independent sister companies with headquarters in Philadelphia and Benicia. Each of the three RevZilla founders will maintain their positions at RevZilla. Messrs. Bucci and Kull will join the board of directors of the holding company along with Joseph Fortunato, executive chairman of Cycle Gear. Mr. Fortunato joined the Cycle Gear board in January 2015 when J.W. Childs acquired the company from Harvest Partners. He is a long-time specialty retail executive and was CEO of GNC from 2005 to 2014.
J.W. Childs invests in middle market companies based in North America. Sectors of interest include consumer products, specialty retail and healthcare. The firm was founded in 1995 and is based west of Boston in Waltham, MA (www.jwchilds.com).
J.W. Childs expects to make more investments in the motorcycle enthusiast sector to build the brand awareness and national retail presence of Cycle Gear and RevZilla.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 2-11-16
