New investment supports Varsity Brands’ growth
strategy and mission to serve sports teams, schools, and
student-athletes
Varsity Brands (the “Company”), a leader in team sports,
athletics and spirit, and KKR, a leading global investment firm,
today announced the completion of the acquisition of Varsity Brands
by KKR from Bain Capital and Charlesbank. As the new majority owner
of Varsity Brands, KKR will support the Company as it continues to
grow its business.
The Varsity Brands platform offers an extensive range of
high-quality, customized solutions, services and experiences that
support school and team sports, athletics and spirit programs,
reaching over eight million athletes and students annually. The
Company is a national marketer, manufacturer and distributor of
customized team uniform and apparel solutions and team-specific
sporting goods and equipment serving more than 150,000 customers,
including colleges, universities, schools, club teams and
recreational programs. Additionally, the Company has strong,
long-standing relationships with iconic global athletic brands such
as Nike, adidas, Under Armor, New Balance and lululemon. Varsity
Brands is also a leading organizer of cheerleading competitions and
training camp programs.
"Today is a pivotal moment for Varsity Brands as we welcome KKR
as our new investor. We see immense growth potential as we advance
our mission to support teams, schools and communities, elevating
the experience for young people nationwide. This is a proud day for
the Varsity Brands team, whose commitment and performance are
critical to our continued success. I am also excited for our
colleagues to join KKR and our leadership team as co-owners of the
Company,” said Adam Blumenfeld, CEO of Varsity Brands. “We are
grateful for the support and partnership from Bain Capital and
Charlesbank. Their support has been instrumental in laying the
foundation for our continued success. I want to express my sincere
gratitude for their belief in our mission and role in shaping the
Varsity Brands we know today.”
With a history spanning five decades, Varsity Brands serves as a
catalyst for positive change, supporting the physical, mental and
emotional well-being of students and athletes through innovative
resources and programs that help kids feel connected, supported and
inspired to excel. Most recently, the Company debuted a new
initiative, SURGE, which stands for Strength, Unity, Resilience,
Growth and Equity, aiming to empower girls to stay in sports. SURGE
encourages female athletes to lead healthy, successful lives
through a variety of free online tools for coaches to build
self-esteem, instill confidence and prioritize mental health.
Additionally, the Varsity Brands IMPACT School Partnership Program
offers schools tailored solutions to enhance school pride, boost
student engagement, and foster community spirit.
“Varsity Brands is a leading solutions-oriented services
provider with a mission to elevate the student experience through
sport and spirit, helping schools and teams foster greater
participation, enthusiasm and community,” said Felix Gernburd,
Partner at KKR.
“We look forward to working alongside Adam and his passionate
team to support their strategy for growing Varsity Brands’ platform
in new markets and categories while continuing to deliver
exceptional products, services and contributions to the sports and
education ecosystems,” said Angad Singh, Director at KKR.
KKR will support Varsity Brands in creating a broad-based equity
ownership program to provide all the Company’s employees with the
opportunity to participate in the benefits of ownership. This
strategy is based on the belief that team member engagement through
ownership is a key driver in building stronger companies. Since
2011, more than 50 KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of
dollars of total equity value to over 100,000 non-senior management
employees.
KKR is making this investment primarily through its North
America Fund XIII. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Goldman Sachs and Jefferies served as financial advisors and
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisor to
KKR.
BofA Securities and William Blair served as joint financial
advisors and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to
Varsity Brands.
About Varsity Brands
Varsity Brands is a premier team sports platform, providing a
comprehensive range of services and solutions for sports, cheer,
dance, band, and yearbook programs. Varsity Brands supports
athletic programs, schools, gyms and teams with customizable
uniforms, gear, competitions, experiences, training, education and
more. Our mission is to elevate the experience of more than 55
million students nationwide through sport and spirit. Discover how
Varsity Brands champions youth participation, well-being and
engagement at varsitybrands.com.
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative
asset management as well as capital markets and insurance
solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by
following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing
world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio
companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that
invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic
partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries
offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the
management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s
investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and
insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR &
Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com.
For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group,
please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at
www.globalatlantic.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240826120044/en/
Varsity Brands Sue Crumpton
media.relations@varsitybrands.com
Samantha Gaspar samantha.gaspar@teneo.com
KKR Miles Radcliffe-Trenner / Liidia Liuksila / Emily
Cummings 212-750-8300 media@kkr.com
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