FSN Capital IV has signed an agreement with Holta Invest to acquire a majority stake in Active Brands AS, a leading Nordic supplier of premium sporting goods brands. Holta Invest, existing management and founders will re-invest alongside FSN Capital and continue to own a material stake in the company.
Active Brands manages a portfolio of well-established sports apparel and equipment brands, including Kari Traa, Dæhlie, Bula and Sweet Protection. The company has achieved great success in recent years, and has delivered strong growth from an efficient and scale-able platform.
Based on a talented and dedicated workforce, Active Brands has consistently outperformed the Nordic market for sporting goods by generating organic annual growth of 30% since 2013. From a strong Norwegian base, the company has gradually expanded into new geographies, and in 2016 approximately 30% of net sales were generated outside of Norway.
In partnership with FSN Capital, Active Brands aspires to reinforce its strong position in the Nordics and further accelerate international growth, through both organic and inorganic initiatives.
“We have admired Active Brands for a long time and have been impressed by the platform created by Holta Invest and the management team’s ability to develop truly unique brands with significant international growth potential. Our ambition is to build on Active Brands’ leading position in the Nordics and support further growth in North America and Central Europe together with our new partners”, says Erik Nelson, Partner at FSN Capital Partners AS, acting as adviser to FSN Capital IV.
Active Brands CEO, Espen Krogstad, is pleased with the acquisition by FSN Capital.
“On behalf of the employees and management team of Active Brands, I am pleased to have FSN Capital as a new majority owner. Active Brands has developed in a fast pace and is today amongst the leading companies in the Nordic sporting goods industry. We are delivering solid growth across all geographies and I look forward to further developing the company”, says Espen Krogstad.
Holta Invest will retain a 20% ownership stake in Active Brands post the transaction.
”We established Active Brands in 2010 with the objective of taking a leading role in the consolidation of the Nordic sporting goods industry. Since then, Active Brands has developed into a great business with a talented team, strong brands and a scalable platform. The company has a strong position in the Nordics and has successfully entered large international markets. We are proud of the development of Active Brands and we are honored to get FSN Capital on board as a new majority owner. We believe in a promising future for the company and we are excited to continue our ownership of Active Brands together with FSN Capital”, says Dag Teigland, Chairman Active Brands and CEO Holta Invest.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals from the Norwegian competition authorities.