Volcom owner Authentic Brands Group just received a $875 million strategic investment led by BlackRock Inc.
BlackRock invested the bulk of the money – $625 million – and new investors in Authentic Brands Group (ABG) made up the rest, according to the Wall Street Journal.
BlackRock is now the biggest investor in ABG, which was valued at more than $4 billion during the deal. BlackRock is the world’s largest money manager with $6.8 trillion under management.
The investment from BlackRock was made by the firm’s new private equity fund called Long Term Private Capital, which is designed to hold investments longer term than typical private equity investments, allowing companies like ABG to potentially stay private longer.
In addition to the new investors, existing investors Leonard Green & Partners, Lion Capital, General Atlantic, Simon Property Group, Brookfield Properties and Shaquille O’Neill are staying invested in ABG.
Jamie Salter, the co-founder of Ride Snowboards and founder and CEO of ABG, has made quite the splash with ABG. The company has snapped up a wide range of brands including Nautica, Sports Illustrated, Juicy Couture, Nine West and Volcom.
He is reported to be eyeing buying the high fashion department store Barneys New York brand out of bankruptcy and is also interested in acquiring more health and wellness brands, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The ABG model is to acquire the intellectual property of a brand and then find new licensing deals and opportunities.
“The strategic investment by LTPC is a testament to the success we have had building a leading platform for the ownership and development of brand and media content,” Salter said in a statement. “We believe BlackRock’s scale, global footprint and digital capabilities will enable us to build out our organization and continue our domestic and international growth trajectory. This investment marks an important and exciting next phase of expansion for ABG.”
