Wilson Sporting Goods, a division of the Finnish conglomerate Amer Sports, has acquired the global rights to the Louisville Slugger bat from Hillerich & Bradsby Co. (H&B) for $70 million in an all-cash transaction. The closing of the deal is expected in the second quarter of 2015. Founded in 1884, Louisville Slugger is the market-leading wood bat in the U.S., the Official Bat of Major League Baseball (MLB), and one of the most well-known and iconic brands in baseball globally. Louisville Slugger reported sales of $75 million in 2014.
With this acquisition, Amer said it intends to accelerate profitable growth in its Ball Sports unit, and to acquire a strong position in the baseball and softball category. According to the company, the global baseball and softball market is worth around $2.2 billion, of which $1.4 billion is in the U.S. These sports count around 20 million active players in the U.S., and are played in more than 100 countries globally. Louisville's acquisition is expected to be neutral to Amer's underlying operating profit margin excluding non-recurring items in 2015, and accretive from 2016.
Wilson will market and sell Louisville Slugger as a stand-alone brand. Under the terms of the deal, H&B will continue to manufacture all Louisville Slugger-branded wood bats at its factory in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. H&B will also maintain ownership of the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory and Gift Shop in Louisville.
