VAN NUYS, Calif. (BRAIN) — Easton-Bell Sports, Inc. has agreed to sell its Easton baseball and softball business to Bauer Sports for $330 million, the company announced Thursday. It also said it is close to selling its Easton hockey business to "a third party."
Easton-Bell Sports is retaining its Bell, Riddell, Giro, Blackburn and Easton Cycling businesses; it will rename itself BRG Sports.
According to a Bauer Sports press release, Bauer will be acquiring the Easton brand name and will license it back to BRG Sports for use on its cycling and hockey products.
"These transformational transactions provide a terrific opportunity for us to focus on growing our core football and action sports brands and enhancing our cutting-edge, market-leading products, while simultaneously streamlining our operations and solidifying our financial strength," said Easton-Bell Sports executive chairman and CEO Terry Lee. "Becoming a leaner, more focused organization will further enable BRG Sports to move faster and smarter, take full advantage of strategic growth opportunities, and strengthen its broad leadership position in today's competitive marketplace."
Easton-Bell's current owners, Fenway Partners, LLC and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, will maintain their investments in the company. The sale to Bauer is expected to be completed in the next 30 days.
Bauer, publicly traded on the Toronto stock exchange under the BAU symbol, is a market leader in hockey equipment. It also owns the Cascade lacrosse helmet brand and the Mission roller hockey brand. It sells composite baseball and softball products under the Combat brand. Its headquarters are in Exeter, N.H.
