KJK Management has completed the purchase of 100 percent of the shares of Elan d.o.o., the Slovenian sporting goods company best known for its skis and snowboards. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The purchase was made through KJK Fund III, a €250 million private equity fund launched in 2018.
Elan, based in Begunje, Slovenia, was founded in 1945 and operates under four main divisions: i) Winter sporting equipment, where Elan is a world-recognized innovator and leader, ii) advanced high-performance racing and leisure sailing yachts, iii) engineered solutions for large multi-purpose arenas and stadiums worldwide, and iv) highly-technical advanced composite components utilized in renewable energy.
Kustaa Äimä, the founder and senior partner at KJK, stated, “We are delighted to have closed the purchase of Elan after nine months of work. We believe that Elan’s relentless focus on its customers makes its products highly relevant to consumers, thereby making Elan highly competitive on the world stage.”
Äimä commented further that “Elan will play a central role in KJK’s efforts to build a sporting goods business focused on enabling friends and families to lead year-round active outdoor lifestyles”.
Elan’s management team, led by Jeffrey Tirman, Elan’s CEO, will continue managing the company. In addition, Tirman will assume the role of CEO of KJK’s newly created holding company, KJK Sports.
Under KJK Sports, in addition to Elan, KJK will combine its other sports and outdoor related investments, including the Estonian-based watersports company, Tahe Outdoors (www.taheoutdoors.com), and Leader 96 (www.leader96.com), the Bulgarian-based bicycle manufacturer.
Tirman commented “We are pleased to have successfully concluded the sale of Elan to KJK and look forward to the opportunity of working with the entire KJK team and the management teams of the other KJK Sports portfolio companies. We believe that significant synergies exist across the portfolio of sport holdings which will enable KJK Sports to become a truly global, all-season active outdoors sporting goods company.”
The KJK Group of companies manage several funds focusing on European Frontier markets and has eight offices across Europe.
