Fairfax gains control of hockey gear maker Bauer in deal with Desmarais family

financialpost.com:

Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. will acquire control of hockey-equipment maker Peak Achievement Athletics Inc. in a deal with an investment manager owned by Montreal’s Desmarais family.

Fairfax will take over Sagard Holdings Inc.’s interest in Peak, which owns brands including Bauer Hockey, Cascade Lacrosse and Maverik Lacrosse, according to a statement Monday.

“We are very excited to increase our ownership in Bauer, led by Ed Kinnaly, which has over many years cultivated Bauer as the most iconic and successful hockey brand in the world,” Fairfax chief executive Prem Watsa said in the statement, which didn’t disclose the size of the transaction.

Fairfax and Sagard picked up the sports apparel company’s assets for US$575 million after parent Performance Sports Group filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Canada in 2016. At the time, PSG was also the owner of Easton, a baseball brand that was eventually bought by Rawlings Sporting Goods Co.

Founded in Kitchener, Ont., in 1927, Bauer sells skates, sticks, helmets and other apparel and is one of the largest brands in hockey equipment.

Sagard is controlled by the Desmarais’ Power Corp. of Canada.

Bloomberg.com