Acquisitive Bauer makes gains in lacrosse market

15/04/2013
Sports equipment brand Bauer has bought Canada-based Combat Sports, a manufacturer of composite bats, hockey sticks and lacrosse sticks, to boost its presence in the fast-growing lacrosse market.

Kevin Davis, Bauer CEO, said: "In addition to their experience in the ever-evolving composites industry, Combat has had significant success with certain baseball and softball products, and we look forward to building their brand and expanding their portfolio of products in the future.”

Bauer reported third quarter revenues up 7% to $54.9 million due to strong growth across all apparel categories, with lifestyle (+51%), performance (+56%), and team apparel (+14%) showing strong increases.

"We continue to demonstrate the strength of our platform and derive benefits from our recent lacrosse and apparel acquisitions as our revenue and profits strengthened in the traditionally challenging third quarter," added Mr Davis.

Last June, the company purchased helmet maker Casade for $64 million.