Christoph Bronder, president and CEO of Marker Dalbello Völkl, will assume the new role of president and CEO of the K2-MDV Holdings, LP, the new holding company that will own the K2 Sports and Marker Dalbello Völkl business units.
The business was sold by Newell Brands to Kohlberg & Company, LLC for $240 million and also includes Madshus, Line, Full Tilt, Atlas, Tubbs, Ride and BCA.
Bronder has successfully built up and led the Marker Dalbello Völkl Group business for more than 20 years. He has also been a managing director of K2 Europe since 2008 and he has been instrumental in the development of the Völkl brand, the Marker acquisition in 2000 and the Dalbello acquisition in 2015.
Jonathan Wiant will continue in his role as leader of Marker Dalbello Völkl Brands, including sales, marketing and product development functions. Andrea Bergamin will be the leader of all operations of the brands, and Kohlberg Operating Partner Michael Quinn has joined as the company’s global CFO. Quinn will be based in K2’s Seattle headquarters and will oversee all company financial functions.
K2 President & CEO Robert Marcovitch will be leaving following a transition period. The company has commenced a global search for a new leader of K2 Brands, who will be based in K2’s Seattle headquarters and be responsible for all sales, marketing and product development for all K2 Brands.
“We greatly appreciate Robert’s support through the transaction and this forthcoming transition period,” added Joe Lawler, operating partner of Kohlber.
The acquisition was completed on July 18. According to Newell Brands, net sales for the divested businesses were approximately $330 million during 2016 and annual adjusted EBITDA for the divested businesses is approximately $25 million.
Said Chris Anderson, partner of Kohlberg. “Kohlberg & Company is excited to be investing in their future. Customers know K2 and Marker Dalbello Völkl as leaders in action sports innovation, and we look forward to building on that legacy. The strong brand reputation and the global teams who have developed, manufactured, sold and serviced these products are the primary reasons for our enthusiasm.”
Lawler, who has been named chairman of the board of K2-MDV Holdings, LP, commented: “This lineup of revered consumer brands together with a world-class management team makes our investment an exciting one. The identities and product specifications of the brands will be retained, developed and celebrated in the future as we unlock each brand’s full potential and bring authentic lifestyle experiences to the global outdoor sports enthusiast community.”
Last October, Newell said that as the result of a strategic review of its portfolio, the company planned to sell about 10 percent of its portfolio, including Jarden Outdoor’s Winter Sports businesses. Newell Brands completed the acquisition of Jarden Group in April 2016.
Photo courtesy Marker Dalbello Völkl
