- Adds digitally-native, premium global apparel brand to the
Company’s portfolio, which is expected to fuel growth and enhance
Wolverine Worldwide’s fast-growing eCommerce business
- Expected to be accretive to earnings in year one
- Wolverine Worldwide to hold a conference call today, August 3,
2021, at 10:30 a.m. EDT
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW), which operates one of
the world’s largest portfolios of footwear and lifestyle brands,
today announced that it has acquired Sweaty Betty®, a global
fitness and lifestyle brand on a mission to empower women. The
all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $410 million and
closed on August 2, 2021.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210803005298/en/
Wolverine Worldwide Acquires Women’s
Activewear Brand Sweaty Betty (Photo: Business Wire)
Founded in 1998, Sweaty Betty has quickly grown to become a
global brand designed by women for women. It has cultivated a loyal
following through its purpose-driven mission and high quality
products, including a wide array of innovative and on-trend tops,
bottoms, swimwear, outerwear, and accessories. Distributed around
the world, over eighty percent of the brand’s revenue currently
comes through direct-to-consumer channels, allowing deep
connections with its passionate consumer base.
“The acquisition of Sweaty Betty complements our strategic shift
over the last several years from a traditional footwear wholesaler
into a consumer-obsessed, digital-focused growth company. It also
gives us a leadership position in the growing women’s activewear
category,” said Blake W. Krueger, Wolverine’s Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer. “Wolverine Worldwide has a long and successful
track record of acquiring and building brands, including
performance brands like Sweaty Betty, and we are thrilled to
welcome them to our Company.”
“Sweaty Betty aligns perfectly with our strategic growth plan
for Wolverine Worldwide, as we focus on growing digital channels,
expanding our international footprint, and building our brand
portfolio beyond footwear,” said Brendan Hoffman, President of
Wolverine Worldwide. “Sweaty Betty’s expertise and focus on
apparel, female consumers, and best-in-class digital execution has
proven to be a winning combination. We are excited to support the
brand’s continued growth while learning from its digital-first
mindset and leveraging that strength across our portfolio.”
Sweaty Betty’s Chief Executive Officer, Julia Straus, will
continue to lead the brand and will report to Hoffman. “Sweaty
Betty has seen incredible growth over the past few years, and we
are excited to further accelerate this growth as part of the
Wolverine Worldwide family,” said Straus. “From the moment I met
the team at Wolverine Worldwide, I knew they were the right partner
to support us in the next chapter of Sweaty Betty. Their portfolio
of purpose-driven heritage brands, knowledge and expertise in
building performance brands, robust international distribution, and
supply chain expertise provides a strong platform to expand Sweaty
Betty and further our mission to ‘empower more women through
fitness all over the world’.”
“We founded Sweaty Betty in 1998 with the purpose to empower
women through fitness, and today we are delighted to have found the
right partner in Wolverine Worldwide, a company that is perfectly
positioned to support the acceleration of our mission,” said Tamara
and Simon Hill-Norton, Founders of Sweaty Betty. “We’re so proud to
have built an incredible community of active women who inspire us
daily and are excited to see this powerful and supportive community
grow worldwide.”
TRANSACTION DETAILS
Effective August 2, 2021, Wolverine Worldwide acquired all the
shares of Lady of Leisure InvestCo Limited, the entity that owns
the Sweaty Betty brand, from L Catterton and other shareholders for
approximately $410 million, funded by cash and the Company’s
revolving line of credit. It is expected to be accretive to
earnings in year one.
Additional details about the transaction are contained in a
presentation under “Webcasts and Presentations” in the Investor
Relations section of www.wolverineworldwide.com
Rothschild & Co. served as financial advisor to Wolverine
Worldwide, with Baker McKenzie and Honigman LLP as legal advisors.
Goldman Sachs International served as lead financial advisor to
Sweaty Betty; Financo/Raymond James served as financial advisor to
Sweaty Betty; Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as lead legal
advisors to L Catterton, Wittington Investments Limited, and Sweaty
Betty; and Pinsent Masons LLP served as legal advisors to Sweaty
Betty.
CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
The Company will host a conference call today at 10:30 a.m. EST
to discuss this acquisition. The conference call may be accessed
live by calling toll-free 1-877-407-4018 or international toll
1-201-689-8471. You may also access the webcast under “Webcasts and
Presentations” in the Investor Relations section of
www.wolverineworldwide.com. A replay of the conference call will be
available on the Company’s website for a period of approximately 30
days.
ABOUT WOLVERINE WORLDWIDE
Founded in 1883 on the belief in the possibility of opportunity,
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW) is one of the world’s leading
marketers and licensors of branded casual, active lifestyle, work,
outdoor sport, athletic, children's and uniform footwear and
apparel. Through a diverse portfolio of highly recognized brands,
our products are designed to empower, engage and inspire our
consumers every step of the way. The company’s portfolio includes
Sweaty Betty®, Merrell®, Saucony®, Sperry®, Hush Puppies®,
Wolverine®, Keds®, Chaco®, Bates®, HYTEST®, and Stride Rite®.
Wolverine Worldwide is also the global footwear licensee of the
popular brands Cat® and Harley-Davidson®. Based in Rockford,
Michigan, for more than 130 years, the company's products are
carried by leading retailers in the U.S. and globally in
approximately 170 countries and territories. For additional
information, please visit our website, www.wolverineworldwide.com
or visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
ABOUT SWEATY BETTY
Leading British activewear and lifestyle brand Sweaty Betty has
been on a mission to empower women through fitness and beyond since
1998. The brand’s loyal, fast-growing and global community of
active women has female empowerment and inclusivity at its core.
Famous for bum-sculpting leggings and innovative prints, Sweaty
Betty combines fitness and style with technical high-performance
fabrics and responsibly sourced materials. Based in London, the
design team create multi-sport, beautiful and technical clothes
that flatter a woman’s body, giving her the confidence to take on
the world.
In addition to its website which services customers globally,
Sweaty Betty has shops in the UK and Asia, in addition to being in
Selfridges, Harrods and shop-in-shops in over 99 Nordstrom stores
across North America. The brand’s products can also be found at
leading retailers all over the world. For more information, please
visit www.sweatybetty.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements,
including statements regarding the Company’s expectations that the
Sweaty Betty acquisition will be accretive to earnings in year one,
fuel growth and enhance the Company’s eCommerce business, and the
Company’s strategic growth plan. In addition, words such as
“estimates,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “forecasts,” “step,”
“plans,” “predicts,” “focused,” “projects,” “outlook,” “is likely,”
“expects,” “intends,” “should,” “will,” “confident,” variations of
such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of
future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, and
assumptions (“Risk Factors”) that are difficult to predict with
regard to timing, extent, likelihood, and degree of occurrence.
Risk Factors include, among others: the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic on the Company’s business, operations, financial results
and liquidity, including the duration and magnitude of such
effects, which will depend on numerous evolving factors that the
Company cannot currently accurately predict or assess, including:
the duration and scope of the pandemic; the negative impact on
global and regional markets, economies and economic activity,
including the duration and magnitude of its impact on unemployment
rates, consumer discretionary spending and levels of consumer
confidence; actions governments, businesses and individuals take in
response to the pandemic; the effects of the pandemic, including
all of the foregoing, on the Company’s distributors, manufacturers,
suppliers, joint venture partners, wholesale customers and other
counterparties, and how quickly economies and demand for the
Company’s products recover after the pandemic subsides; changes in
general economic conditions, employment rates, business conditions,
interest rates, tax policies and other factors affecting consumer
spending in the markets and regions in which the Company’s products
are sold; the inability for any reason to effectively compete in
global footwear, apparel and consumer-direct markets; the inability
to maintain positive brand images and anticipate, understand and
respond to changing footwear and apparel trends and consumer
preferences; the inability to effectively manage inventory levels;
increases or changes in duties, tariffs, quotas or applicable
assessments in countries of import and export; foreign currency
exchange rate fluctuations; currency restrictions; supply chain or
other capacity constraints, production disruptions, quality issues,
price increases or other risks associated with foreign sourcing;
the cost and availability of raw materials, inventories, services
and labor for contract manufacturers; labor disruptions; changes in
relationships with, including the loss of, significant wholesale
customers; risks related to the significant investment in, and
performance of, the Company’s consumer-direct operations; risks
related to expansion into new markets and complementary product
categories; the impact of seasonality and unpredictable weather
conditions; changes in general economic conditions and/or the
credit markets on the Company’s distributors, suppliers and
retailers; increases in the Company’s effective tax rates; failure
of licensees or distributors to meet planned annual sales goals or
to make timely payments to the Company; the risks of doing business
in developing countries, and politically or economically volatile
areas; the ability to secure and protect owned intellectual
property or use licensed intellectual property; the impact of
regulation, regulatory and legal proceedings and legal compliance
risks, including compliance with federal, state and local laws and
regulations relating to the protection of the environment,
environmental remediation and other related costs, and litigation
or other legal proceedings relating to the protection of the
environment or environmental effects on human health; the potential
breach of the Company’s databases or other systems, or those of its
vendors, which contain certain personal information, payment card
data or proprietary information, due to cyberattack or other
similar events; problems affecting the Company’s supply chain or
distribution system, including service interruptions at shipping
and receiving ports; strategic actions, including new initiatives
and ventures, acquisitions and dispositions, and the Company’s
success in integrating acquired businesses, and implementing new
initiatives and ventures; the risk of impairment to goodwill and
other intangibles; changes in future pension funding requirements
and pension expenses; and additional factors discussed in the
Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
and exhibits thereto. The foregoing Risk Factors, as well as other
existing Risk Factors and new Risk Factors that emerge from time to
time, may cause actual results to differ materially from those
contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these or other
risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance
on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.
Furthermore, the Company undertakes no obligation to update, amend,
or clarify forward-looking statements.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210803005298/en/
Layne Hebert Layne@Lividini.com
Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW)
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