Ronaldo buys majority stake in Brazil's Head and Mares distributor
What's the deal? Ronaldo Nazário, the former Brazil striker known as Ronaldo Fenômeno, has acquired 51% of DLDDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the company that runs the HeadDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → tennis and MaresDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → water-sports brands in Brazil. The remaining 49% went to an investor consortium that includes former tennis player Bruno Soares. Terms were not disclosed.
Why now? The deal lands during a growth stretch for DLD. The distributor posted a 26% rise in revenue over the past 12 months and has averaged roughly 20% annual growth over the past three years.
What's the endgame? The new management plans to consolidate the brands' presence in Brazil, strengthen the distribution network, and improve service to retailers. It also intends to back competitions and build closer ties with clubs, academies, and racquet-sports players.
"The Head brand has a huge history in tennis, and we are going to help it grow even more in Brazil," Ronaldo said (translated from Portuguese). He added that the company wants to invest in developing new athletes.
DLD will continue to manage Mares, an international maker of water-sports equipment. The minority consortium alongside Soares includes João Rezende, Bruno Mendonça, Gustavo Maia, and Rafael Alcici Cardoso, who represents the group.
The signal: The purchase rounds out a widening business portfolio for Ronaldo, who is 50. He is a partner with Roberto Carlos and Enrico Ambrogini in the new Inter de Limeira football company, and runs marketing, media, athlete-management, travel, and real-estate ventures through holdings including Oddz Network and Galaticos Capital. The DLD deal marks a move from owning clubs and agencies into the sporting-goods supply chain.
Read more: maquinadoesporte.com.br
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
