Brands including Savage Gear and Prologic are now part of the world’s biggest tackle business
Pure Fishing’s purchase of Svendsen Sport, revealed earlier today on the Angling International website, is its fourth acquisition in three years under the ownership of of private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Svendsen Sport has been growing revenues and profits under the ownership of Maj Invest Equity, and not many in the industry will have seen this coming. But it is further evidence of the industry’s domination by powerful financiers, with Rather Outdoors and Mustad among other major companies funded by private equity. It is also another significant step in the direction of industry consolidation, extending Pure Fishing’s global reach and capability. Svendsen Sport has not only increased its impact in Europe. Its predator brand, Savage Gear, has made inroads into the US market, winning the fiercely-contested freshwater hard lure category at ICAST in 2017 and the saltwater soft lure category in 2021.
“We are proud to add Svendsen Sport, its portfolio of exciting growth brands and its talented people to our team at Pure Fishing,” said Pure Fishing Chief Executive Officer, Harlan Kent. “The sport of fishing continues to see strong growth around the world and the acquisition of a company with a proven track record of innovation and brand-building gives us complementary capabilities to position our business for continued success as a global leader in fishing. We are particularly excited about the talented colleagues who are joining us as a result of this acquisition. We have bold plans to continue to drive compelling new products around the globe and the Pure Fishing team is now even stronger with the addition of Svendsen Sport.”
Hans Maasbol, CEO of Svendsen Sport, paid tribute to his team for ‘creating award-winning products and building market-leading brands on a scaleable platform.’ “We are proud that we have doubled the turnover during Maj Invest Equity’s ownership and at the same time significantly improved profitability. We are especially excited about the opportunity to join with Pure Fishing and make use of the resources they bring, which will enable us to continue the momentum we have in our business. We also appreciate that they hold customer service in the same high regard as we do.”
