Apax agrees to acquire Cole Haan
16 November 2012
New York and London
Funds advised by Apax Partners ("Apax"), a global private equity
firm, today announced that they have entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire Cole Haan LLC, a leading designer and retailer
of premium footwear and related accessories, from NIKE, Inc. for
$570 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in
early 2013.
Cole Haan, headquartered in New York, is an iconic American
designer and retailer of premium men's and women's footwear,
apparel and accessories. Founded in 1928, Cole Haan's brand
represents craftsmanship, style and innovation. The Company
sells through leading department stores, 108 domestic Cole Haan
stores, 68 international stores across Canada, China and Japan and
its online site www.colehaan.com. Cole
Haan has been a wholly-owned affiliate brand of NIKE since
1988.
Apax is partnering with Jack Boys, who led the revitalisation of
Converse into a fast-growing global lifestyle brand. During
his tenure as CEO, Converse achieved significant growth in sales
from $150 million to over $1 billion.
Alex Pellegrini, a Partner in Apax's Retail & Consumer team,
said, "We are excited to partner with Jack to grow the Cole Haan
brand in the U.S. and internationally. Cole Haan is an iconic
brand with broad consumer appeal and we believe the brand has even
greater opportunities in the future. We look forward to
investing in the Company to achieve this growth."
"The decision to divest of Cole Haan allows us to sharpen our
focus on opportunities with the highest potential for strong
returns, and to make sure the brands within the NIKE, Inc.
portfolio are the most complementary to the NIKE Brand," said NIKE,
Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker.
Apax has extensive experience in fashion apparel, footwear and
accessories through current and previous investments including
Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, an apparel retail company and one of
the world's leading lifestyle brands, which was acquired by PVH
Corp. Apax also partnered with PVH in the company's
successful acquisition of Calvin Klein.
The firm's Retail & Consumer team oversees current
investments including rue21, Inc., a leading specialty apparel
retailer, and Advantage Sales & Marketing, the premier
outsourced sales and marketing services to consumer packaged goods
companies and retailers in North America. Internationally, funds
advised by the firm are currently invested in New Look, a UK-based
value fashion retailer and Takko, a value apparel retailer
operating in Germany, Central Europe and Russia. Prior Apax
investments also include Tommy Bahama, Dollar Tree Stores and The
Children's Place.
Jefferies & Company, Inc. acted as financial advisor and
provided financing to Apax. Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided
legal advice and Ernst & Young provided accounting and tax
advice.
About Apax Partners
Apax
Partners is one of the world's leading private equity investment
groups. It operates globally and has more than 30 years of
investing experience. Funds under the advice of Apax Partners
total over $35 billion around the world. These Funds provide
long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class
companies. Apax Partners Funds invest in companies across its
global sectors of Tech & Telecom, Retail & Consumer, Media,
Healthcare and Financial & Business Services.
For further
information about Apax, please visit: www.apax.com
About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading
designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear,
apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and
fitness activities. Wholly-owned NIKE subsidiaries include Converse
Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear,
apparel and accessories and Hurley International LLC, which
designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle
footwear, apparel and accessories; For more information, visit www.nikeinc.com and follow @Nike.
Contacts:
Apax Partners
Ben Harding
/ Georgiana Brunner
Apax Partners
Tel: +44 (0)20 7872 6401 / 6429
Email: communications@apax.com
US enquiries
Kekst and
Company
Todd Fogarty
Tel: +1 212 521 4854
Email: todd-fogarty@kekst.com
NIKE, Inc.:
Mary Remuzzi
Tel: +1 503 532 8767
Email: mary.remuzzi@nike.com