Bell Sports Acquires Bell Racing, Inc.
Bell Sports has reunited all three sports categories and their respective product lines under single entity ownership.
The company announced January 5 that it acquired Bell Racing, Inc., a producer of Bell brand helmets and gear for auto racing. The deal, struck with Bob Booth – who has held the rights to the Bell brand for auto racing helmets and accessories in the Americas since 2002 – gives Bell Sports exclusive rights to design, market and sell Bell brand auto racing helmets and accessories in North and South America. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Management, staff and distribution strategies at Bell Racing, Inc. will remain intact, and the company will operate from its current facilities in Rantoul, Ill. under the direction of Kwai Kong, president of the Specialty Business at Bell Sports.
Bell Sports is a unit of Riddell Bell Holdings, Inc., which had revenues of $320 million in 2003. In September, Riddell Bell Holdings Inc. was purchased by Texas-based Fenway Partners, a private equity firm managing a fund exceeding $900 million.
The company’s Riddell Sports division designs, markets and reconditions helmets, uniforms and athletic equipment used in football, baseball, lacrosse and other team sports, while the Bell Sports division concentrates on powersports, bicycling and other action sports.
