Investment firm Carpe Diem Growth Capital acquired Canada-based Sherwood-Drolet Inc., maker of Sher-Wood and SWD branded hockey sticks, in bankruptcy proceedings. Carpe Diem renamed the business Sher-Wood Hockey Inc., and appointed Ralph Trott, a former executive at Canadian retailer North West Company, as president and CEO. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are elated that we have the opportunity to re-energize the Sher-Wood brand,” says Dean Topolinski, principal of Carpe Diem Growth Capital. “Since the late 1940s, Sher-Wood sticks have remained the choice for hockey professionals and players that aspire to achieve their best. We are passionate about building on that solid foundation to create a value-driven company that meets the needs of our customers, employees, suppliers and other business partners worldwide.”
Denis Drolet, president and CEO of the company his father, Léopold, founded in 1949, is leaving the company to focus on Sherwood-Drolet affiliate InGlasCo Corp., a licensed product maker and the NHLs official puck supplier. In May, Sherwood-Drolet sought protection from nearly 300 creditors owed almost $21 million.
“I wish [the new owners] all the luck in the world in keeping the very well-known Sher-Wood name going,” says Drolet.
