Milliken & Company acquires Polartec
Milliken & Company, a diversified global manufacturer with more than a century and a half of experience in the textile sector, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Polartec, world leading brand in the production of innovative technical solutions for sportswear, lifestyle, professional and military, from Versa Capital Management. The acquisition should be completed by June. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Andover, Massachusetts, the Polartec brand boasts a wide and respectable range of high-performance fabrics for sportswear, lifestyle, military and professional wear and are synonymous with uncompromising performance. The addition of Polartec, in particular its family of fabrics for the outdoor sector, completes Milliken’s vast portfolio, allowing the company to offer unprecedented access to a range of performing fabrics for end consumers, industrial professionals and staff military all over the world.
“Polartec brings a vast and renewed experience in the outdoor textile sector to complete Milliken’s already great offer”, declared Halsey Cook, Milliken & Company president and CEO. “The strategic acquisition expands our capabilities in the textile sector with a product offering that will now include technical solutions for insulation and protection from the elements, allowing us, among other things, to grow into new and exciting sectors”.
“With more than 150 years of innovation in the textile sector, Milliken is the best “natural owner” of a brand like Polartec. I look forward to supporting this integration”, said Polartec’s CEO Gary Smith. “I am grateful to Versa Capital Management for their support in realizing the full potential of Polartec, and I am extremely proud of the global Polartec team for the dedication and hard work that brought the company its position today.”
“Milliken offers the perfect platform to ensure the continuation and acceleration of Polartec’s success after years of difficult and transformative corporate repositioning by Gary Smith and his team”, stated Greg Segall, Versa’s CEO and Polartec’s president. “It was a great collaboration with Gary and all the valuable Polartec employees, and we are proud of everything that was done during the ownership of Versa, in particular reviving an American textile icon and a global brand in a company equipped to succeed in today’s highly competitive markets. Milliken is the ideal long-term owner for Polartec and we look forward to seeing the two companies achieve great results together”.
Versa acquired the activities of the former Malden Mills in 2007 through the third reorganization of the textile manufacturer brand for over a century. Working with management, the company has been transformed, renaming Polartec, reorienting it towards a technology-driven growth strategy and innovation, and renewing leadership, activities, production footprint and customer relationships.