Palamon buys a majority stake in colourful Swedish retailer Happy Socks
Palamon Capital Partners today announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Happy Socks, a leading whimsical sock designer.
The European growth investor's transaction valued the Swedish sock company at SEK 725m (£67.1m), with SEK 40m of growth capital to be injected to support the continued expansion of the business, leading to a SEK 765m enterprise value.
Palamon's previous investments in the specialty retail sector include Feelunique.com, Dress-For-Less and The Rug Company.
Read more: Palamon Capital buys majority stake in The Rug Company
"Palamon’s investment stems from the firm’s ongoing effort to identify well-positioned European specialty retail brands with strong growth potential in a global market," said Ali Rahmatollahi, partner of Palamon.
Happy Socks was founded in 2008 in Sweden with the mission to use an everyday essential item to spread happiness and colour with high standards of quality, craftsmanship and creativity.
Now the global brand is sold in more than 90 countries through online and in own-branded retail shops.
(Source: Happy Socks)
Happy Socks generated retail sales of €100m (£87.89m) in 2016, achieving more than 50 per cent growth in revenue and earnings over the last three years.
Mikael Söderlindh, co-founder of Happy Socks, said the company has grown beyond his expectations over the past two years. "We have transformed the company into a real growth engine by strengthening our operational platform and our global presence.
"We have achieved the best of both worlds by securing a strong new partner in Palamon and remaining significant owners in a great business that we will continue to build in the years to come," he added.
Söderlindh and co-founder Victor Tell will remain actively involved in the company.