Private equity firm Seidler Equity Partners, which co-owns Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. with Major League Baseball (MLB), is exploring a sale of its stake in Rawlings, seeking a $2 billion valuation, including debt, sources told Bloomberg. 

In June 2018, Los Angeles-based Seidler Equity, alongside the MLB as a co-investor, acquired Rawlings from Newell Brands for a purchase price of $395 million. Seidler Equity Partners owns a 75 percent stake, with MLB holding the remaining 25 percent. 

The Seidler family has roots in professional baseball as the late Peter Seidler was the former owner of the San Diego Padres, and his brother, John Seidler, currently serves on the board of Rawlings. 

Bloomberg said the higher valuation reflects stronger interest in sports assets, including the spike in deals for sports leagues and sports technology, as well as Rawlings’ overall growth. At the time of its acquisition in 2018, Rawlings reported net sales of approximately $330 million for the previous fiscal year ended 2017.

The Rawlings story has been one made up of two eras.

After an early history as a stand-alone company for more than 100 years, Rawlings was acquired by K2, Inc. in March 2003 where new CEO and Chairman Richard “Dick” Heckman used the company as his engine to become a brand consolidator. K2, Inc was already home to the K2 snow sports brands, inline skate brands and Shakespeare fishing when Heckman and Rawlings merged the two businesses. That move was quickly followed by Rawlings’ acquisitions of Worth (2003) and Miken (2004) in separate transactions.

After the K2, Inc. business saw challenges with its new empire, the business, including Rawlings, Worth and Miken, was acquired by Jarden Corporation in April 2007 in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. K2’s portfolio of brands at the time include Adio, Ex Officio, JT, K2, Marker, Marmot, Penn, Rawlings, Ride, Sevylor, Shakespeare, Stearns, Völkl and Worth.

Jarden Corporation, along with its brand portfolio, was acquired by Newell Rubbermaid in 2016 in a deal valued at $16 billion, and forming the new Newell Brands, Inc. that housed over 100 brands. Rawlings and Worth were housed with other former K2 Inc. brands in a new Jarden Outdoor segment under the Newell umbrella.

Newell Brands commenced divesting a number of brands in 2016, initially focusing on the sale of winter sports brands.

The company completed the sale of Rawlings and the other baseball and softball brands in June 2018 and

Newell Brands completed the divestiture of Rawlings Sporting Goods Company Inc. in June 2018, which at the time included the Rawlings, Miken, and Worth brands, to Seidler Equity Partners. Newell Brands said at the time that gross proceeds from the divestiture were expected to be approximately $395 million, subject to customary working capital and transaction adjustments. The company also sold off the Pure Fishing business, anchored by Shakespeare, to Sycamore Partners at the end of 2018 in a deal valued at $1.3 billion.

As a stand-alone, PE-backed company Rawlings has done some brand consolidation of its own, notably the acquisition of the Easton Diamond Sports business in October 2020, Jack Corbett Hollywood Bases in July 2022, and Tanner Tees in September 2025. Rawlings’ growth has also been supported by a resurgence in participation in youth and professional sports. 

Rawlings has seen a 45 percent increase in sales since 2019, with sales estimated to reach a record $750 million in 2025, according to a May 2025 report from the St. Louis Business Journal. Rawlings’ CEO Ron Ostrowsk told the publication that “Rawlings had set a goal to reach $1 billion in annual revenue.” 

Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Rawlings holds exclusive official ball and helmet partnerships with MLB, Minor League Baseball and the NCAA. 

Image courtesy of Rawlings