BURLINGTON, Vt. (BRAIN) — A New York City-based investment group, Flour Fund, has purchased the assets of the wool clothing brand Ibex. The fund outbid an offer from a Vermont group that included Liz Robert, the owner of Terry Precision Bicycles.
The purchase price was not released and the new owners did not say if they would keep the company in Vermont, which was a goal of the group Robert had joined.
Ted Manning, the former CEO of the company, told The Burlington Free Press that he has been impressed by the new owners. Manning does not expect to remain involved with the company. "I've enjoyed getting to know these guys," Manning told the local paper. "So far they've been diligent and thoughtful."
Flour Fund also owns Skora, an athletic footwear company. Flour Fund managing partner David Hazan is also owner of Quirky.com, an online inventor community.
Flour Fund released a statement that said it would look to license the Ibex brand and invest in Ibex's consumer-direct sales. Ibex had sales of about $21 million last year. It stopped wholesale sales midyear and shut down in February.
Robert was working with Vermont Works, a fund set up to help preserve Vermont businesses, to bid for Ibex, which she said would be complementary to Terry, a women's bike brand. She told the Free Press it would be interesting to see if the new owners keep the brand in the state.
"I'm hoping that Vermont Works and other equity financing companies here in Vermont can figure out better ways to keep more companies here in Vermont," Robert told the paper. "Because it's just another one sold up the river."
