6 July 2022

BDA advises Navis on sale of Texon to Coats

a portfolio company of

has been acquired by

2022

BDA Partners is pleased to announce that its client, Navis Capital Partners (“Navis”), has agreed to sell its stake in Torque Group International Fortune (“Texon”) to Coats Group plc (“Coats”), the world’s leading thread manufacturer, for US$237m. Texon is a leading manufacturer of high performance, sustainable materials for footwear, accessories, and functional apparel.

BDA Partners and William Blair acted as financial advisors to Navis on the transaction.

Rodney Muse, Managing Partner, Navis Capital, commented: “When we invested in Texon in 2016, we clearly saw the potential in its competitive, innovative, high-performance and sustainable products. Texon will continue to disrupt the premium footwear and accessories industry, and we wish our trusted partners together with the senior management team all the best for the next stage of their global growth journey with Coats.”

Jelle Tolsma, CEO, Texon, commented: “We are very pleased to be joining Coats. We thank Navis for their support and strategic guidance of the business over the recent years. We believe the last six years with Navis has created a strong platform to continue driving sustainability and innovation. We believe that Coats provides us with a global platform to support the business and further accelerate our growth.”

Rajiv Sharma, Coats Group Chief Executive, said: “The acquisition of Texon will strengthen our existing presence in the highly attractive athleisure footwear market. The business is complementary to Coats and provides attractive future commercial opportunities as we work together leveraging our combined expertise and knowledge to succeed with our customers. We recognise and share Texon’s focus on sustainability and innovation, and believe that this acquisition strengthens our ability to fulfil these shared ambitions.”

Paul DiGiacomo, Managing Partner and Head of Financial Sponsors, BDA Partners, said: “We’re proud to have helped Navis on this transaction. This is the 12th exit on which we’ve advised Navis, which is a testament to our long-term partnerships with our clients. We believe this is an excellent result for all the parties and we look forward to seeing Texon continue to grow under Coats’ leadership.”

Karen Cheung, Managing Director and Head of Consumer and Retail Asia, BDA Partners, said: “We’re pleased to have advised Navis on the sale of Texon, even in an unusual year affected by COVID and market instability. This transaction reaffirms BDA’s strong consumer and manufacturing expertise, and our ability to run cross-border, competitive processes. This is the fifth consumer transaction we’ve executed this year, which cements our position as a leader in the space.”

About Texon

Texon is a leading manufacturer of high performance, sustainable materials for footwear, accessories, and functional apparel. With a proud heritage dating back more than 75 years, Texon’s broad product portfolio includes innovative structural components, revolutionary woven materials, creative cellulose solutions and high-performance fabrics. Trusted by the world’s best-known brands for its technical know-how and unwavering commitment to the environment, Texon is a global business, with a local way of working and teams in more than 90 countries. Always striving for better, Texon’s ambition is zero waste by 2025. This goal drives the business to make a sustainable difference – creating high quality products that have a positive impact on the planet, communities, and the future. www.texon.com

About Navis Capital Partners

Founded in 1998, Navis manages approximately US$5bn in private equity capital and focuses on investments primarily in Southeast Asia and its adjacent economies. Navis contributes both capital and management expertise to well-positioned companies with the objective of directing strategic, operational and financial improvements. Navis has one of the largest private equity professional teams in Asia, comprising 60 individuals, supported by 30 administrative staff, in six offices across the region. Since inception, Navis has completed over 90 control transactions, of which over 60 have been exited, and consistent with Navis investment strategy, almost all these exits have been to trade buyers. www.naviscapital.com

About Coats Group plc

Coats is the world’s leading industrial thread company. At home in 50 countries, Coats has a workforce of 17,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2021 were US$1.5bn. Coats provides complementary and value-adding products, services and software solutions to the apparel and footwear industries. It also applies innovative techniques to develop high technology performance materials threads, yarns, fabrics, and composites in areas like personal protection, telecoms, energy, transportation, and household and recreation. Headquartered in the UK, Coats is a constituent of the FTSE 250 and FTSE4Good Index Series. It is a participant in the UN Global Compact, a member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, has approved short-term science-based targets to 2030 and is committed to developing a long-term target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the highest level of ambition on climate change under the Science Based Target initiative. The pioneering history and innovative culture of Coats enable the delivery of its purpose to connect talent, textiles, and technology to make a better and more sustainable world. www.coats.com/en

About BDA Partners

BDA Partners is the global investment banking advisor for Asia. We are a premium provider of Asia-related advice to sophisticated clients globally, with over 25 years’ experience advising on cross-border M&A, capital raising, and financial restructuring. We provide global reach with our teams in New York and London, and true regional depth through our seven Asian offices in Mumbai, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. BDA has deep expertise in the Chemicals, Consumer & Retail, Health, Industrials, Services and Technology sectors. We work relentlessly to earn our clients’ trust by delivering insightful advice and outstanding outcomes. BDA Partners has strategic partnerships with William Blair, a premier global investment banking business, and with DBJ (Development Bank of Japan), a Japanese government-owned bank with US$150bn of assets.

US securities transactions are performed by BDA Partners’ affiliate, BDA Advisors Inc., a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). BDA Advisors Inc. is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and SIPC. In the UK, BDA Partners is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In Hong Kong, BDA Partners (HK) Ltd. is licensed and regulated by the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) to conduct Type 1 and Type 4 regulated activities to professional investors. www.bdapartners.com