North Castle Partners Completes Sale of Cascade Helmets to Bauer Performance Sports
North Castle Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on investments in consumer product and service businesses that promote Health, Wellness, and Active Living, announced today that it has completed the sale of Cascade Helmets Holdings, Inc. (“Cascade”), the leading manufacturer and distributor of lacrosse helmets and eyewear, to Bauer Performance Sports Ltd. (TSX:BAU) for a purchase price of US$64 million.
Cascade is the leading designer, developer, manufacturer and marketer of lacrosse helmets and eyewear in North America, and is one of the most well-recognized brands in the broader lacrosse equipment industry. Leveraging its deep experience in sports, fitness and recreation, North Castle in partnership with Cascade’s exceptional leadership team, accelerated new product innovation, doubled sales and built a new line of hockey helmets with hockey legend Mark Messier.
“The growth of Cascade and its sale to Bauer is another example of North Castle’s strategy to partner with entrepreneurial management teams to build high-growth brands that are of significant value to strategic buyers,” said North Castle Managing Director Alison Minter. “We believe North Castle’s experience in sports, fitness and recreation in partnership with Cascade’s exceptional leadership team has created a company that is well positioned to capitalize on the wide range of opportunities the company will have as part of Bauer Performance Sports.”
“We believe the growth of Cascade illustrates the benefits our focused approach provides to management teams as we partner to build great companies. We are proud to have played an integral role in the development of Cascade, which is representative of the broader value creation that we are driving across our entire portfolio,” said North Castle’s Managing Partner Chip Baird. “We continue to look for opportunities across the Health, Wellness and Active Living markets to leverage our knowledge, network and experience in building market leaders like Cascade.”