Platinum Equity, the LA-based owner of GSM Outdoor, Pelican Products, Mad Engine, and Momentec Brands, has reportedly reached an agreement to acquire Solo Group, a European manufacturer of business-to-business personalized products, including apparel, drinkware, bags and luggage, stationery, and tech accessories.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The Solo Group business is reportedly being acquired from company founder Alain Milgrom and management.
Solo Group, founded in 1991 and headquartered in Paris, France, has seen its growth accelerate since the 2022 acquisition of Dutch full-service supplier Midocean, creating a one-stop-shop solution for both hard goods and textiles. The company reports that it “serves over 19,000 customers, including resellers, specialists and distributors.”
“Solo’s strong foundation and entrepreneurial heritage make it an excellent fit for our hands-on approach to value creation,” said Platinum Equity Co-President Louis Samson. “We have great confidence in the company’s leadership team and fundamentals. We believe that our M&A resources and operations capabilities can help the company accelerate its growth and foster new innovative solutions for an increasingly complex personalized products market.”
“This deal provides another example of how Platinum can craft transaction solutions even in a challenging time for buyouts globally,” Samson added.
Solo’s management team will retain a stake in the business.
“Solo aims to shape the future of personalization. One that is not only high performing but also sustainable and designed to meet the challenges of today and anticipate the needs of tomorrow,” said Solo CEO Audélia Krief, who will continue to lead the business following the ownership transition. “This requires a continuous investment in innovation, service and automation that is now made possible through the financial sponsorship of Platinum Equity.”
Stephen Gibson, COO of Solo and former CEO of Midocean, added, “The European market for personalizable products is developing fast, driving consolidation towards full-service suppliers of both hard goods and textiles. In our quest to accelerate this development in Europe, we are extremely excited to have attracted Platinum Equity to support our ambition.”
“Solo’s integrated model, combining distribution scale and on-demand printing, delivers compelling advantages in cost, product breadth, inventory availability, and speed to Solo and its B2B customers,” said Malik Vorderwuelbecke, managing director, Platinum Equity. “In a highly fragmented market, these strengths position the company as an attractive platform for organic growth and strategic acquisitions. We will look to expand geographically and into new product categories.”
Image courtesy Solo Group Paris
