Van Merksteijn International, a Dutch manufacturer of steel-based products, has acquired a majority stake in Mistral International BV, the owner of the wind-surfing brand. Mistral International BV was set up last year as a joint venture between Ado Huysman, a well-known Dutch investor in the sports business, and Boards & More, the Austrian company that formerly owned Mistral.
To begin with, Huisman held a stake of 51 percent in Mistral International through X-Wear, one of his companies in the Netherlands. But last December he took over the remaining 49 percent from Boards & More, which is owned by Airesis, a Swiss investment company. After the latest transaction, Huisman again has a minority stake in Mistral International while the majority is in the hands of Van Merksteijn Fashion, a subsidiary of Van Merksteijn International.
At the same time, Van Merksteijn has acquired a majority stake in Mistral Division Europe, another Dutch-based company that has a license for Mistral apparel in most European countries, with the exception of Spain and Portugal. This company was owned entirely by its managing director, Semih Berrak, who retains a minority share.
Huisman will continue to run Mistral International together with Stephanie van Merksteijn. The 23-year-old daughter of the company’s owner has a diploma in textile management and a fashion store in Enschede, in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Van Merksteijn will also share the management of Mistral Division Europe with Berrak.
This apparel business has just extended a long-term apparel licensing deal with Sur Pacifico in Argentina, to cover that country and Uruguay. Sur Pacifico already has eight Mistral stores in Argentina, including three in Buenos Aires alone. Furthermore, Mistral has entered talks for new apparel licenses in Japan and China, and the tie-up with Van Merksteijn is expected to yield more international contacts. The global license for Mistral hardware is still in the hands of Boards & More, at least until September.
