Wachovia Securities and Goldman Sachs are prepping a $415 million deal for Irving, Texas-based Riddell Bell Holdings. The financing will be used to fund the acquisition of Easton Sports, repay outstanding debt owed by both businesses and provide working capital. Fenway Partners is Riddell's controlling shareholder. Once the Riddell-Easton merger is completed, the company will operate under the name of Easton-Bell Sports.
The proposed financing consists of a $335 million term loan "B," a $70 million revolver and a CDN$12 million revolver. The transaction has a value of about $400 million. Riddell's existing debt stems from its merger of Bell Sports and Riddell Sports Group, which created Riddell Bell Holdings. That financing, led by Goldman, Wachovia and UBS, consists of a seven-year, $110 million term loan "B" and a six-year, $50 million revolver.
Located in Van Nuys, Calif., Easton Sports designs and manufactures apparel for sports such as baseball, softball, hockey, archery and bicycling. Based in Chicago, Riddell is one of the leading manufacturers of athletic helmets and is the official helmet provider of the National Football League. Calls to Mark Tripp, cfo at Easton Sports, were not returned, nor were calls to Fenway Partners or Wachovia. Jeffery Gregg, cfo at Riddell, did not return a call. Bankers at Goldman were also unavailable.