CVC completes investment in A Bathing Ape to accelerate global expansion

HONG KONG and LONDON and NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CVC announces the completion of an investment in A Bathing Ape ("BAPE") after the brand became an independent company from I.T Limited. This follows the successful privatization of I.T Limited by Brooklyn Investment Limited, owned by CVC Capital Partners Asia V Limited ("CVC") and the Founder Group of I.T on Friday 30 April 2021. With the investment, CVC has acquired co-control of BAPE.

BAPE has been among the world's most iconic streetwear brands since its founding in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan in 1993. BAPE's line up of labels includes A Bathing Ape, AAPE, Baby Milo, BAPE Black, and Mr. Bathing Ape, which are sold in stores across Asia, North America and Europe.

CVC plans to support the expansion of the business both online and geographically. BAPE will pursue the growth of its presence in overseas markets such as China, the United States and Europe, as well as evolving its online offering to enhance the customer experience and optimizing its marketing and sales channels through increased digitalization.

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."

CVC has a twenty-year track record of expanding businesses in Asia, and will leverage its respective experience in internationalization, commercial expansion and digitalization, as well as the strength of its existing portfolio of global brands to support BAPE's growth ambitions.

Sham Kar Wai, Chairman, CEO and co-founder of I.T Limited, said: "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."

"CVC is very pleased to partner with Chairman Sham and the BAPE team, which has developed and expanded BAPE's position as a leading global streetwear brand. We will work closely together and drive the continued success of the business." added Yann Jiang.

The completion of the investment follows I.T Limited's shareholder meetings on 16 April 2021, where disinterested shareholders holding over 99.99% of shares voted in favor of the Scheme of Arrangement.

About CVC

CVC is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm with a network of 23 offices throughout Europe, Asia and the US, with approximately US$118 billion of assets under management. Since its founding in 1981, CVC has secured commitments in excess of US$160 billion from some of the world's leading institutional investors across its private equity and credit strategies. Funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in over 90 companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of approximately US$100 billion and employ more than 450,000 people.

CVC Asia has one of the largest and longest-established pan-regional office networks of any private equity business in Asia and has been active in the region since 1999. CVC's Asia private equity strategy is focused on control and partnership investments in high quality businesses, typically with enterprise values between $250 million and $1.5 billion. For further information about CVC's Asia Pacific funds please visit: www.cvc.com/private-equity/asia.

About A Bathing Ape (BAPE)

Since the brand's establishment in 1993, BAPE has remained as a symbol of street fashion for more than 28 years. The brand has created globally iconic designs and street fashion trends since its founding, including designs such as "APE HEAD", "BAPE® CAMO", "BAPE STA™", "SHARK HOODIE" and "BABY MILO®". BAPE has also developed successful collaborations with global brands and artists. The brand is committed to providing a customer experience that blends premium fashion apparel with an entire lifestyle. BAPE's apparel and brands are carried throughout stores in Japan, the US, Europe, China and various markets in Asia.

SOURCE CVC

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