BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Bauer back in hockey hands]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/02/22/bauer-back-in-hockey-hands/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/02/22/bauer-back-in-hockey-hands/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/02/22/bauer-back-in-hockey-hands/#commentsFiled under: ,

Venerable hockey brand Bauer is back in the hands of an ice hockey enthusiast. On Thursday, Nike (NYSE:NKE) sold the brand to private equity investor W. Graeme Roustan, a private equity investor who grew up in Montreal and now lives in Florida. Also involved in the purchase was investment firm Kohlberg & Co. of Mount Kisco, NY.

Nike paid $395 million for Bauer in 1994, betting that inline hockey would grow the brand. That bad bet, and other design mistakes, led Nike to put the company up for sale last fall. Roustan, a self-described "blade guy" paid a reported $200 million.

Over the next two years, the Nike swoosh will be phased out as the brand returns to the focus of ice hockey.

Bauer back in hockey hands originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>BauerhockeyinthenewsNikeNKEFri, 22 Feb 2008 15:07:00 EST<![CDATA[Nike looking to sell Bauer hockey unit]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/02/05/nike-looking-to-sell-bauer-hockey-unit/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/02/05/nike-looking-to-sell-bauer-hockey-unit/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/02/05/nike-looking-to-sell-bauer-hockey-unit/#commentsFiled under: ,

Apparently, even Pittsburgh Penguins phenom Sidney Crosby hasn't been enough to revive stagnant interest in hockey. Nike (NYSE: NKE) is reportedly looking to unload Bauer, a market leader in hockey equipment. The company is expected to get less than half of the $395 million it paid for Bauer parent Canstar Sports -- in 1994.

According to the New York Times, "Player registrations for USA Hockey, the governing body, rose last season by 3.3 percent over the previous period. But the increase was largely caused by previously unregistered adult players who joined for insurance reasons. Youth memberships, the indicator of the sport's future, fell 0.5 percent."

Bauer has been a lackluster performer since it was acquired and recent efforts to incorporate the Nike swoosh into a new logo for the company (shown above) met with consumer resistance.

Unloading the brand might not be so easy, although Nike says it is profitable but does not break down the unit's income in its financial statements. Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK) recently hired JPMorgan to attempt to sell its Rossignol ski business which it acquired in 2005 and has struggled with ever since.

The market for slow- to no-growth winter sporting goods manufacturers would seem to be a buyer's one.

Nike looking to sell Bauer hockey unit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>BauerinthenewsNikeNKEquicksilverSidney CrosbySidneyCrosbyzkqTue, 05 Feb 2008 12:25:00 EST