Littlejohn & Co. Backed alphabroder Announces Acquisition of Bodek and Rhodes

TREVOSE, Pa., Dec. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- alphabroder, the leading North American distributor of imprintable sportswear and accessories, announced today the acquisition of Bodek and Rhodes ("Bodek"), another recognized industry leader serving the imprintable activewear market for over 75 years.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Bodek was founded in 1939 and today is run by third generation family members Michael Rhodes, Hal Rhodes and Scott Siegel.  Bodek provides award winning customer service and a complete range of activewear including recognized brands such as Gildan®, Hanes®, and Fruit of the Loom®.  It is also the largest distributor of Next Level® and the industry's first private label brand UltraClub®.  To further enhance its portfolio, Bodek has also recently launched Columbia®.

"I have long known and respected Bodek and its family leadership.  This is a significant acquisition and the combination of our companies will drive greater service levels for our Customers and vendors and further our market position.  The addition of Next Level® and Ultra Club® greatly enhances our portfolio of brands, and we look forward to expanding the penetration of these and many of Bodek's other brands across our customer base.  We also look forward to bringing our unique products to their Customer base," said Norman Hullinger, CEO of alphabroder.

David Simon, a member of alphabroder's Board of Directors and Managing Director at private investment firm Littlejohn & Co., the largest shareholder of alphabroder, said, "This transaction further advances the transformation of alphabroder.  The significant new equity investment in support of the Bodek transaction continues our commitment to drive value creation at the company.  We continue to see many ways to create value at alphabroder and expect to pursue additional opportunities, as they become available, in order to enhance the company's position in the broader promotional products marketplace."

Bodek is alphabroder's third acquisition in three years.  Shortly after Littlejohn took control of the company, alphabroder acquired Imprints Wholesale and almost two years ago alphabroder completed the acquisition of Ash City Worldwide, one of North America's leading private label promotional apparel manufacturers and suppliers.

Each of the third generation Bodek leaders will be employees of alphabroder and make a significant investment in the company.  Additionally, Michael Rhodes will serve on the alphabroder Board of Directors.

About Littlejohn & Co., LLC
Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity firm investing in middle-market companies that are undergoing a fundamental change in capital structure, strategy, operations or growth that can benefit from its operational and strategic approach.  The firm is currently investing from Littlejohn Fund V, L.P., which has $2 billion in capital commitments.  For more information, visit www.littlejohnllc.com.

About alphabroder
Founded in 1919, alphabroder is North America's largest distributor of trade, private label and retail apparel brands and merchandise to the promotional products marketplace. alphabroder offers more than 40 brands including a broad selection of retail and trade brands from Gildan®, Hanes®, Fruit of the Loom®, Jerzees®, Bella + Canvas®, Next Level®, American Apparel®, adidas® Golf, Champion®, alternative® and Dickies® as well as private label brands including UltraClub®, North End Sport®, North End®, Core365™, Devon & Jones®, Harriton and Team 365™.

Contact: Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC
914-834-4334

SOURCE Littlejohn & Co., LLC

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