Strava, the activity tracking and social community platform used by more than 100 million people globally, has acquired Fatmap, a European company that’s building a high-resolution 3D global map platform for the great outdoors.
Read Moreadidas has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Reebok to Authentic Brands Group (“ABG”) for a total consideration of up to EUR 2.1 billion, with the majority to be paid in cash at closing of the transaction and the remainder comprised of deferred and contingent consideration.
Read MoreDepop, the fashion resale marketplace beloved by Generation Z, will be acquired by Etsy for USD 1.6 billion, underscoring the growing influence of clothing resale platforms. Etsy aims to advance its leadership in community-driven and differentiated marketplaces within the rapidly growing resale sector, especially serving the upcomingGen Z audience, offering an ideal fit with Etsy's marketplace M&A criteria.
Read MoreMoncler and Sportswear Company, which holds the Stone Island brand, announced that they have reached an agreement as a result of which Stone Island joins Moncler to develop a new shared vision of luxury. With this transaction, united by their "beyond fashion, beyond luxury" philosophy, these two Italian brands will strengthen their ability to interpret the evolving cultural codes of the new generations and the meaning of luxury fashion.
Read MoreWhen former V magazine art director Peter Poopat and brand consultant Flavio Girolami founded Common Projects ten years ago, the market for premium-priced sneakers was relatively underdeveloped. However, their prescience was soon to be proven by a boom in the luxury sneaker category, which has seen designer labels like Balenciaga, Givenchy and Saint Laurent selling sneakers everywhere from Sneakerboy to Bergdorf Goodman.
Read MoreMulti-fashion player VF Corporation and streetwear brand Supreme announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement. VF is buying Supreme from private equity firm Carlyle Group and investors including Goode Partners. The Carlyle Group paid USD 500 million in 2017 for a roughly 50% stake in the fashion brand, an investment that could double in value based on the latest transaction. VF jumped the most in 33 years after agreeing to buy Supreme for USD 2.1 billion to bolster its portfolio of apparel and footwear brands. The cash transaction is expected to be completed by year end and marks VF’s largest acquisition since it bought Timberland in 2011 for USD 2.3 billion.
Read MoreAfter raising a USD 66 million Series D funding in August to expand access to creative courses globally, Skillshare that it has raised new funding from Adobe, the global leader in creative software. The total amount of funding was not disclosed, but this latest raise is part of Skillshare’s Series D round announced this summer.
Read MoreGymshark, the fitness community and apparel brand, has announced it will enter a strategic partnership with General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, in its first-ever fundraise, valuing the business at over GBP 1 billion, benefiting from the latest trends in the fitness industry and among direct-to-consumer brands.
Read MoreOverall, the fitness industry has already been experiencing the massive growth of digital fitness, out-of-studio experiences and connected fitness. Notable platforms, such as Peloton and Mirror, have created enormous awareness, brand recognition and loyal followings. While they offer solutions that are able to fully replace the in-studio experience, they are often supplemental to the physical studio or gym experience. Consumers still desire physical human interaction but often schedules, travel and other issues impede their ability to get to a physical gym. Today’s new connected are combining training, social interaction, gamification and many forms of engagement for the consumer.
Read MoreConsolidation in the world of on-demand food ordering and delivery continues apace, a move that is creating the world's largest online food-delivery company outside of China in terms of revenue. Europe's Just Eat Takeaway.com has agreed to buy Grubhub in an all-stock transaction worth about USD 7.3 billion. The deal values Grubhub's shares at USD 75.15 apiece, a 27% premium to their Wednesday close.
Read MoreThere’s been a flurry of M&A activity among media brands this year. Vox acquired New York Media, Vice announced its purchase of Refinery 29 and NowThis parent Group Nine has taken over PopSugar. Dealmakers in the space have taken on a different approach in recent years, as opposed to when venture-capital money flooded the sector and valuations soared. The new acquirer largely follows a different playbook that has cash flows and profit front of mind, not simply growth at all costs. Savvy media brands are looking at how they can convince their audiences to hand over money for their content, such as paywalls, creating a membership model or executing intelligent affiliate linking strategies.
Read MoreCoffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages worldwide. There are thousands of independent coffee bars in the streets, serving different varieties of the drink. At a first glance, the industry might seem highly diversified, but large players are in a rush to rapidly consolidate. The two largest players are the Swiss giant Nestlé and Luxembourger JAB, which hold together more than a third of the marked for coffee roasters according to Euromonitor.
Read MoreWhat exactly is digital M&A and how does it compare with garden-variety deal making? The buzz in the world of mergers and acquisitions these days around technology and digital businesses. BCG latest report conculded that one out of every five transactions has a clear link to some form of technology.
Read MoreWhat most people do not see in TBH, an app sold for around USD 100m to Facebook, only nine weeks after its launch are that it requires hard work and overcoming failure before successful deploying an app. Whilst the time to exit was short for TBH, it was most certainly not an overnight success for the makers behind the app.
Read MoreEurope’s biggest commercial property company is to buy Westfield, the Australian company behind the UK’s two highest-earning shopping centres, in a $25 billion deal that will create the world’s largest mall operator. French Unibail-Rodamco plans to roll out Westfield centres in Europe and the US. The planned tie-up comes as the growing number of people buying items online, fuelled by Amazon, forces shopping centre operators to focus on their best assets.
Read MoreTech is not just for tech companies anymore. Nearly every industry has been affected by digital and mobile technologies disrupting their market and no company can afford to ignore the impact of technology, starting with supply chains to customer engagement, and continuous with even more advanced technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things. The question is, how do companies rapidly access the technologies that can advance their businesses and integrate them successfully with their current operations?
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