Hold onto your hats: New Era Cap just secured some fresh capital while adding the three biggest sports leagues in the U.S. as minority owners.
Private equity firm ACON Investments closed a single-asset continuation round of around $700 million for the hat maker, ACON announced Thursday.
- The NFL, NBA, and MLB all became minority investors in New Era.
- New investment groups include Apollo, GCM Grosvenor, Hamilton Lane, and Neuberger Berman.
ACON founding partner Ken Brotman called New Era “one of our best performing portfolio investments in [investment fund] ACON Equity Partners IV.”
New Era CEO Chris Koch added that the cash injection will “allow us to consider potential North American and global acquisitions.”
Top Three
The investment represents a rare union between the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
“Having our three largest league partners aligned with us through a strategic equity position further solidifies our already strong partnerships,” said Jim Grundtisch, New Era’s chief revenue officer.
Fanatics has sold stakes to the NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS, and the NBA holds stakes in the company’s trading card business and Fanatics China.
