BDT Buys $100M Worth of Under Armour From Kevin Plank
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Byron Trott — who enjoys a reputation as Warren Buffett’s favorite banker — is apparently also pretty high on Kevin Plank’s list of people.
Plank, executive chair of Under Armour Inc., sold Trott’s BDT Capital Partners about 16 million class C shares of the activewear company.
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The company said the stock is valued at about $100 million — out of the firm’s current market capitalization of $3.1 billion.
Under Armour described BDT as “an affiliate of BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank built to serve the distinct needs of business owners and strategic, long-term investors.” The group already owned an undisclosed number of Under Armour shares before the transaction.
Plank remains the company’s largest shareholder with 51 million shares, representing 12 percent of the total stock outstanding and 65 percent of the voting rights.
The executive chair — who this year turned day-to-day leadership of the company over to former Marriott executive Stephanie Linnartz, chief executive officer — does not have plans to sell more shares at this time.
Plank said: “I have maximum confidence in Under Armour, Stephanie Linnartz as CEO, and our strategy — especially our ability to drive future success and performance for shareholders. This transaction allows me to close out a previous personal financing commitment related to some of my earlier initiatives investing in the City of Baltimore while bringing in a long-term founder-supportive firm in BDT & MSD, which believes in Under Armour.”
Trott added, “We have strong conviction in Kevin’s vision for Under Armour and the refreshed, focused strategy laid out by Stephanie to position the business for attractive long-term growth.”
Trott has invested in fashion before, most prominently in Tory Burch, a position he’s held for more than a decade.
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