MINNEAPOLIS (BRAIN) — United Sports Brands, which acquired Pearl Izumi from Shimano in May last year, has been acquired by Norwest Equity Partners. NEP is a previous owner of Shock Doctor, the athletic brand that evolved into USB; NEP sold Shock Doctor to Bregal Partners in 2014. Under Bregal, Shock Doctor made several acquisitions and was renamed USB.
NEP also has invested in Wahoo Fitness and in VanMoof. It currently owns the fitness chains Edge Fitness and Movati Athletic.
Besides Pearl Izumi, USB brands are Shock Doctor, McDavid, Cutters, Nathan, and Glukos. The transaction closed Nov. 20, and financial terms were not disclosed.
Several months after acquiring Pearl Izumi, USB closed its Colorado headquarters and reduced the company's staff, consolidating some positions in California. Specialized later acquired the former Pearl Izumi headquarters from USB.
