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This aritcle is from the Australian Financial Review. Click here for the original article.
Quadrant Private Equity has offloaded its majority stake in Quad Lock, a manufacturer of products that let outdoor enthusiasts mount phones on their bikes and boats, to Swedish giant Thule in a deal that values the Melbourne-based company at $500 million.
Stockholm-listed Thule is best known for roof boxes, bike racks, jogger strollers for children and ski and snowboard bags. With the purchase, it adds products that lock smartphones to bikes, boats or cars that can withstand tough terrain to its broader portfolio.
Quadrant bet on two big consumer trends – outdoor adventure and smartphones – after it snapped up a 60 per cent stake in 2020. Founders Rob Ward and Chris Peters and Quad Lock’s management own the rest of the company, which was founded in 2011.
Quadrant managing partner Marcus Darville, who is also the chairman of Quad Lock, said the company had worked hard to get into new markets.
“It has been a classic partnership between Quadrant and the founders where we have been able to expedite the growth of this business overseas and deepen its capabilities. This is an outstanding D2C business that has achieved global success,” Mr Darville said on Monday.
Under the deal, Quadrant will receive 80 per cent cash payment and 20 per cent payment in shares in Thule, giving it a 1 per cent stake in the Stockholm-listed group. Mr Ward and Mr Peters will also own Thule shares.
Mr Peters said he admired Thule for the design of its products.
“We started out as a Kickstarter project, really, and then scaled up. We have millions of customers all over the world, and around 100 staff. We see this [deal] as something that really sets up the future for Quad Lock long term. Thule is a long-term home for Quad Lock,” he said.
Mr Ward said becoming part of Thule would allow Quad Lock to lean into the Swedish company’s expertise of creating high-quality products as it expanded into new categories.
During Quadrant’s four years of ownership, Quad Lock’s sales grew from $48 million to over $200 million. Its earnings rose from $10 million to $50 million. The private equity firm, one of Australia’s largest, installed a new management team and tripled the product development team. Andrew Poole will remain chief executive of Quad Lock under its new owners.
It ramped up marketing and influencer campaigns, drafting ambassadors like Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri, former professional motocross racer Ricky Carmichael and long-distance rider Charley Boorman.
Quad Lock was part of Quadrant’s Growth Fund, which has four assets remaining. The firm has sold investments from its the fund including Arq Enterprise to Singtel and ModiBodi to Swedish retailer Essity. Quadrant floated Adore Beauty on the ASX but still holds a large stake. Dog food company Prime100 also sits in that fund. Quadrant has hired boutique advisory Houlihan Lokey to oversee a review and is mulling a sale next year.