Zoot Sports

Client

Zoot Sports was founded in Kona, Hawaii, home of the Ironman Triathlon World Championships. It all started when Kona resident Christal Nylin noticed that athletes competing in Ironman needed something more functional to race in. Today, Zoot Sports makes performance apparel that caters to elite, triathlon athletes worldwide.

Their goal

The owners were interested in selling a majority ownership stake to a value-added strategic partner so they could take cash off the table, keep some ownership and partner with someone who could help them grow the business in a significant way.

How we helped

We spent three years getting to know the owners and the business and stayed close to them, providing market insights and information. When the time was right (company size and market conditions), we ran a strategic process. Other investment banks would have passed because the category is niche and the EBITDA was small, but we were able to find an amazing Italian buyer, a third-generation family office and a world-class private equity firm that has multi-generational businesses in sport.

The result

MVC Group, an Italian based family-office, purchased a majority stake in the Company enabling the shareholders to receive substantial liquidity while also maintaining a meaningful ownership interest in the newly combined entity. MVC Group is also partially owned by the Equinox Fund, Italy’s leading private equity fund focused on growing consumer brands. The partnership with MVC and Equinox positioned Zoot to leverage the historical success of its brand to drive future domestic and international growth opportunities while also strengthening MVC’s position within the U.S. market.