Boa Technology, the Denver-based company that invented an alternative to shoelaces, is being sold for $454 million to Compass Diversified, a publicly traded company that operates as a private equity group. Boa becomes the tenth company in the Compass portfolio, which includes Liberty Safe, a manufacturer of gun safes, and Sterno, a brand that specialises in heating fuels.
Earlier this year Compass also acquired Marucci Sports, a maker of baseball and softball equipment, for $200 million. Compass, which focuses on middle-market deals, is purchasing Boa from its current majority owner Glenbrook Consumer Partners and other minority shareholders. According to reports, management and affiliates of the sellers plan to reinvest some of the proceeds into the company and will hold a near-20 percent stake.
Compass initially approached Boa in mid-February but the sales process was put on hold with the shut down of the global economy, said Elias Sabo, Compass CEO.
Boa last year unveiled its Performance Fit Lab at its headquarters in Denver where it is carrying out scientific studies to improve athlete performance. “It really fits every metric that we look for,” Sabo said. “They own all the intellectual property in the space and there are no competitors.”
Boa’s CEO Shawn Neville, who took over in April 2017, will continue to lead the company. The deal is expected to close by early November.
