Sale of Planet Sports to 21sportsgroup goes ahead

Harriet Bailey
16 March 2015

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Puccini, a Carlyle portfolio company, has finally sold Planet Sports to 21sportsgroup - despite announcing a cancellation of the sale two weeks prior.

A rapid agreement was apparently reached between Puccini's insolvency administrator and the buyer, allowing the sale to go ahead. At the end of February, 21sportsgroup stepped away from the sale as Puccini had failed to meet the terms set out in the contract announced in January.

At the time, 21sportsgroup stated that it continued to be interested in the business. It highlighted the company's 20 years of partnership with major sporting goods manufacturers as a reason to invest. The buyer also confirmed Planet Sports is "unaffected by the economic difficulties of the former parent holding company".

According to figures in the German media, Planet Sports has seen negative EBITDA levels since 2012, when it registered a loss of €1.2m, to reach a €2.5m loss in 2013.

21sportsgroup sells bikes, clothing, footwear and accessories for runners, cyclists and triathletes via its online shops 21run.com, 21cycles.com and 21streetwear.com. The company's logistics and distribution centre, and its Vertical Ride megastore are both based in Mannheim. The online stores employ 50 people.

Previous funding
In November 2010, Carlyle created the Puccini Group through its acquisition of a portfolio of six multi-channel retail businesses from Primondo Speciality Group. It used its €5.4bn Carlyle Europe Partners III fund to purchase Versandhaus Walz, Planet Sports, Bon'A Parte, Elégance, Mirabeau and 50% of Vertbaudet Germany.

Company
Launched in 1993 in Munich, Planet Sports sells extreme sports clothing, footwear and accessories. It sells its products in 12 stores located in 10 cities, as well as via its online store.

Following the transaction, 21sportsgroup will have more than 2.2 million customers and an annual turnover of €80m.

People
Jörg Mayer is founder and CEO of 21sportsgroup. Christian Gerloff is insolvency administrator of Puccini. Henner Schwarz is general manager of Planet Sports.