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Finland Group to Buy Wilson

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From Reuters

Wilson Sporting Goods Co., one of the best-known names on American playing fields, has agreed to be purchased for $200 million by Finnish business consortium Amer Group Ltd., the companies said in a joint statement Monday.

Amer will buy privately held Wilson from Wesray Capital Corp., a New York investment firm founded by former Treasury Secretary William Simon.

Chicago-based Wilson, which was founded in 1913, makes a range of sporting goods, including tennis, golf, basketball and football equipment, familiar to athletes and schoolchildren across the United States. It also makes sports apparel and athletic shoes.

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The purchase would expand Amer’s existing presence in the U.S. sporting goods market through its controlling interest in MacGregor Golf Co. In a separate statement from Helsinki, Amer said the combination of MacGregor with Wilson’s golf production facilities and retail network would make the group a leader in the golfing market.

Wesray, a pioneer in leveraged buyouts, took Wilson private in 1985 for about $150 million, said Dick Wenz, Wilson’s chief financial officer.

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