PVH Corp. sells Speedo North America Business to Pentland Group for $170 mn

PVH Corp. has agreed to sell Speedo North America business to Pentland Group, the parent company of Speedo International Limited, for $170 million in cash, subject to a working capital adjustment. Speedo International licensed the Speedo trademark to a PVH subsidiary Warnaco for perpetual use in North America and the Caribbean. The transaction, which is expected to close in Q1, is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

The Speedo brand, the license for which PVH inherited in buying Warnaco in 2012, accounted for $225 million in annual sales and $18 million profit.  It was part of the PVH’s Heritage group that also includes Izod and Van Heusen. The sale will allow PVH to increase focus on its Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein brands.

Emanuel Chirico, Chairman & CEO, PVH Corp, said, “This strategic announcement aligns with PVH’s goal to optimize and streamline its Heritage Brands business in the ever-evolving retail environment and focus on delivering sustainable profitable growth of its global brands, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. I am pleased to see Pentland Group reunite the Speedo business globally, as they are best positioned to capture the full potential of the iconic Speedo brand.”

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, stated, “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 a licensee.”

The acquisition by Pentland Group comes ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the participation of many Speedo athletes.

“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,” Long added.