Tapout, the sport’s most predominant clothing and lifestyle brand, has sold to Authentic Brands Group, a New York-based company specializing in branding development and licensing.
Authentic Brands Group announced the acquisition of Tapout, as well as the rival Silver Star clothing brand, in a Monday press release.
The branding firm reportedly purchased Hitman Fight Gear as well, according to a
Bloomberg report posted Monday. Hitman is believed to have been previously acquired by Tapout and was likely listed as an asset in the deal, according to Sherdog.com sources.
Tapout President Marc Kreiner and company founder Dan Caldwell did not return requests for comment from Sherdog.com this week.
ABG aims “to acquire, manage and build long-term value in prominent consumer brands,” according to its Web site. ABG also boasts relationships with multiple larger-form retailers from luxury to mass market, and has offices in Toronto and Los Angeles.
“Authentic Brands Group has global brand building experience in apparel, action sports, consumer electronics, home and celebrity brands,” read a press release distributed by the company on Monday.
According to his ABG bio, Chairman and CEO Jamie Salter has controlled and steered the following brands: Ride, Sims, Lamar LTD, Kemper, Volant, Hespeler, Ultra Wheels, Rage, Airwalk, Vision Street Wear, Dukes, Ram, TearDrop, and Zebra.
Ride, a prominent snowboarding brand, was founded by Salter and two others in 1992, and today produces extreme sports products ranging from state-of-the-art boards to boots to clothing.
As the CEO of Hilco Consumer Capital company, which Salter left in January to later form ABG, he also worked with additional brands like Tommy Armour, Caribbean Joe, Halston, Bombay, Ellen Tracy, Sharper Image, Linens 'N Things, Polaroid, and House of Marley (Bob Marley).
In January, Salter and Hilco facilitated a collaboration between Polaroid -- which was purchased in bankruptcy -- and pop superstar Lady Gaga. The multi-year deal named Gaga a creative director of the ailing brand; the 23-year-old entertainer will both design new products and lend her universally recognized name to the project.
“This sport is still in its infancy,” said Salter in the release. “We strategically chose these acquisitions as our first big move because we’re getting into the right business at the right time. We’re looking forward to working with the best brands and the best athletes in the world as we transition these two companies into global lifestyle brands with our retail and licensing partners.”
Tapout was founded by Dan “Punkass” Caldwell and Charles “Mask” Lewis. According to the Bloomberg.com report, founder Caldwell will remain with the Grand Terrace, Calif., company as president, the role previously occupied by Kreiner. Tim “Skyskrape” Katz, a third personality of the Tapout Crew, will stay on as marketing/creative director, said the report. Lewis, the company’s other co-founder, died in a car accident in March 2009.
Kreiner, who was brought in by Lewis and Caldwell in 2005 and helped turn it into a multi-million dollar venture with profits reportedly surpassing $100 million in 2008, has purportedly parted ways with the company, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the deal.
Silver Star founder Luke Burrett will also join the Tapout company and ABG in some capacity, said the report.
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