Columbia Sportswear Company signed an agreement to acquire OutDry Technologies S.r.l., which owns the intellectual property and other assets comprising the OutDry brand and related business, via a cash purchase from Nextec S.r.l., based near Milan, Italy.  The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2010, subject to customary closing conditions, and is not expected to have a material effect on the company’s 2010 operating results.


“Columbia’s acquisition of OutDry is the latest example of our strategy to build a portfolio of innovative technologies that deliver performance and protection benefits of greatest importance to outdoor consumers,” said Tim Boyle, president and CEO of Columbia.  “We view OutDry’s proprietary construction methods, under development since 1998, as the ‘gold standard’ for producing waterproof, breathable footwear and gloves that outperform products still relying on the 25-year-old method of internal booties and bladders.  We intend to deploy OutDry across our portfolio of outdoor brands, including Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, Sorel and Montrail, as well as to market OutDry to select leading brands.”


In Fall 2009, Columbia’s Mountain Hardwear brand was an early adopter of the technology when it introduced a selection of gloves manufactured using OutDry’s patented construction processes.


Nextec srl chief executive officer and co-founder Luca Morlacchi added, “We look forward to working with our new partners at Columbia Sportswear to further develop the OutDry technology, and to market OutDry to other leading brands…”


Nextec S.r.l. cofounders and brothers Luca and Matteo Morlacchi will serve as chief executive officer and general manager, respectively, of OutDry Technologies S.r.l., which will remain headquartered in Italy and operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear Company.