CVC COMPLETES INVESTMENT IN A BATHING APE

©Wave

A Bathing Ape has now undergone the successful completion of investment from private equity firm CVC, looking to accelerate BAPE’s global expansion. With the official delisting of I.T from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, BAPE went on to become an independent company, but will now be co-controlled by CVC with its recent investment into the fashion brand.

BAPE are expected to expand in the China, United Staters, and European markets, both online and offline geographically. Yann Jiang, Director at CVC, said: “BAPE is an iconic brand with a loyal fan base that has defined the fashion industry with its premium streetwear designs. We are looking forward to bringing this exciting brand to more markets and new customers around the world.”

Sham Kar Wai, Chairman, CEO and co-founder of I.T Limited, commented on the agreement with, “I take great pride in the success of the brand to date, which has been thanks to the commitment of our leadership and staff. CVC is the right partner to support the transformation of BAPE as we focus on our long-term growth.”

Last year, a similar sale made streetwear seem more mainstream, as hypebeast favorite Supreme was sold to VF Corp in a deal worth $2.1 billion. The Denver-based corporation, which also owns The North Face, Vans, and Timberland, said that amid the sale, Supreme would pretty much stay the same. Today, Supreme is still selling out drops in minutes and has only added to its growing list of collaborators (some of which are also owned by VF). But like CVC, VF is working on expanding the brand, and recently opened a new Supreme store in Milan.