FeraDyne Outdoors, LLC, the manufacturer of archery and bow hunting products and accessories, has been acquired by Snow Phipps Group, LLC, a New York-based private-equity firm.
FeraDyne designs, manufactures and markets category-leading brands including Rage expandable broadheads, Muzzy fixed-blade broadheads, Nockturnal lighted nocks and Tru-Fire mechanical releases. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Snow Phipps will partner with the existing FeraDyne management team of Rich Krause and Jon Syverson. Krause will remain FeraDyne's chief executive officer, and Syverson has been promoted to the position of executive vice president.
Snow Phipps operating partner Peter Shea will join FeraDyne as the non-executive chairman of the Board of Directors. Industry veteran and hunting icon Jim Shockey will be a significant part of the ownership group and also join the FeraDyne board as a non-executive director.
"FeraDyne is extremely pleased to be partnering with the Snow Phipps team," said Krause. "They have a documented track record of helping guide businesses to the next level and they understand our mission of focusing on our customers and bringing innovation and quality to the market. We believe that we will be able to offer even more exciting new products, strong brands and value added services to our customers and consumers under their ownership."
Shea brings with him many years of management and board experience overseeing leading consumer products companies, including formerly as managing director for H.J. Heinz Company. He has previously been chairman, CEO or president of other consumer companies in the gaming, home products, and food sectors around the globe.
"FeraDyne represented a unique opportunity for Snow Phipps to acquire the market-leading provider in several bow hunting and archery categories, serving a broad array of outdoor retailers," said Shea. "We have absolute trust in the FeraDyne team, and their record of developing, manufacturing and marketing of cutting-edge products that fulfill the needs of bow hunters is exactly what drew us to them."
The addition of Shockey to the board brings another three decades of hunting and industry experience to FeraDyne leadership. Shockey founded Shockey Enterprises, a leading outdoor television production and multimedia company on his principles of integrity, loyalty and honesty.
"This opportunity really is a dream come true for me," said Shockey. "Like millions of my fellow bow hunters, I have come to trust the FeraDyne products no matter where in the world or what species I am bow hunting. I am proud to be part of a great team that shares a vision for the future of hunting. Our new partnership will provide FeraDyne with the resources to create revolutionary and reliable products for many years to come."
Global middle market investment banking firm Baird acted as the exclusive financial advisor to FeraDyne on the transaction with investment bankers Kurt Roth and Andrew Martin leading the Baird team in a highly competitive bidding process.
