Palo Alto, CA, December 14, 2017 – Altamont Capital Partners has closed the sale of its portfolio company, HUF Worldwide, (HUF), a leading skate and streetwear brand, to TSI Holdings, a Japanese company managing a portfolio of leading apparel brands.
HUF, founded by Keith Hufnagel as a skate hard-goods and apparel shop in San Francisco, developed its own label into one of the most sought after brands in the skate and streetwear communities. In 2014, the company partnered with investment firm, Altamont Capital Partners to support its growth and has continued to expand its business under Altamont’s ownership. The HUF Worldwide company includes the Lakai Limited Footwear brand – also part of the transaction.
Commenting on the transaction, Hufnagel said, “We’ve had a long relationship with TSI as our distribution partner in Japan. I have total confidence that they understand HUF as a brand and that we will be able continue to create amazing product, which is the most important thing to me. I also want to thank Altamont and the team there for all of their support – they have been great partners.”
Under TSI, HUF will operate as an independent global brand and will continue to be led by Keith Hufnagel (Founder), Steve Holley (CEO) and Jon Brubaker (CFO). HUF global headquarters will continue to be located in Irvine, CA and creative offices will continue to be located in Downtown Los Angeles.
To facilitate the transaction, William Blair & Company, L.L.C. acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Ropes & Gray provided legal advice to HUF and Altamont Capital Partners on the transaction.
Lincoln International served as financial advisor and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati acted as legal counsel to TSI Holdings
About Altamont Capital Partners
Altamont Capital Partners is a private investment firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Altamont is focused on investing in businesses where it can partner with leading management teams to help the companies reach their full potential. The firm’s principals have significant experience building business success stories across a range of industries.
About HUF
HUF is a leading skateboard and streetwear apparel and footwear business based in Los Angeles. The company was founded on Keith Hufnagel’s belief that the skateboarding lifestyle brings together a vast assortment of similar countercultures: from artists, to musicians, to photographers, to any creative like-minded individual, transcending race and social structure, and exposing the individual to a world free of prejudice or restriction. The company strives to express these values in the HUF collection.
About TSI Holdings
TSI Holdings is one of Japan’s leading apparel companies with a portfolio of over 40 brands and over 2,000 retail points of sale throughout Japan and Asia. TSI Holdings (TSE 3608) is a public company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Contact:
Kristin Johnson
Managing Director, Head of Business Development