Ibex, which ceased operations last November, has been sold to Flour Fund, a New York-based group led by David Hazan, a marketing expert.

The brief statement on the sale follows:

Who is Flour Fund

Flour Fund, led by Principal David Hazan, is made up of a group of investors who operate the companies purchased themselves. David Hazan notably exited the marketing agency he founded, Escalate, after he sold it to marketing giant Acosta. Their experience is deeply rooted in the licensing and branding world. Flour Fund’s portfolio notably includes Quirky (acquired in 2014), the Lilly Drone IP (2017), and Skora (acquired in 2015). Flour Fund continues to thematically acquire brands it believes have a strong community element.

What Will Happen Next For Ibex

Flour Fund will invest heavily into Ibex’s direct-to-consumer channel, and create delightful and thoughtful experiences for it’s loyal community. Flour Fund, in usual form, will also look to apply its renowned licensing model, typically applied to the brands it purchases. They will evaluate proposals from category experts seeking to license the brand and expand the Ibex product offering.

Why Flour Fund was interested in Ibex

Ibex is a unique brand that has made a name for itself on the quality of the materials its products are made of. That is a rare thing today, in a world where everything is at your fingertips. We were blown away at everything we learned about the incredible properties and versatility of Merino Wool. More than that, after getting to experience the actual products, it was evident that this is more than just an apparel brand and we understood instantly why a community was formed around it. This went along with the ethical values Ibex built itself on. After meeting the team we understood these values were not only public-facing but deeply ingrained in the team working on it day-to-day. That was inspiring for us and we felt really good about buying something with this much substance.

The wool-infused outdoor brand based in Vermont ceased operations following a move to shut down its wholesale operations to focus on retail, and after a sale last year an auction was held for the brand, trademarks, domain names and customer databases in January of this year. Sales have reported been around $20 million over the last few years.

Photo courtesy Ibex