Swimwear brand completes £130m US deal
Pentland Group, the Nottingham-based parent company of Speedo International, has acquired the Speedo North America business for £130 million.
Speedo International previously licensed the Speedo trademark to a subsidiary of US-based PVH Corp for perpetual use in North America and the Caribbean, but will now bring the brand in house subject to regulatory approval.
Pentland Group, which also owns the Berghaus, Canterbury, Ellesse and SeaVees brands, acquired Speedo in 1991 and has since developed it into the world’s leading performance swimwear brand.
Andy Long, CEO of Pentland Group’s Pentland Brands division, said: “We’ve had a great partnership with PVH and they’ve done an incredible job in raising the profile of the Speedo brand and growing the business in North America during their time as licensee.”
The acquisition comes ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which will feature many Speedo athletes.
Long added: “With the Tokyo Games this year, now is the right time to bring Speedo North America back into our brand portfolio. Pentland has a strong track record of investing in people and international brands and we’re looking forward to welcoming the Speedo North America team into the Pentland family and working together on the next chapters in the Speedo success story.”
