NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Praesidian Capital, a leading private investment firm, announced today that it acquired a controlling interest in Round 2 (“Company”). Headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, Round 2 is an innovative collectibles company that produces model kits, including classic cars and spaceships, die cast cars, slot cars and other hobby products. The Company has dozens of license agreements with well known brands such as General Motors, Ford, Star Trek and Star Wars and sells through major retailers including Walmart, Target, and Hobby Lobby. Round 2 also sells through its e-commerce platform – www.autoworldstore.com. This is the second platform company closed by Praesidian Capital under its recently launched private equity strategy.
“We are excited to partner with Tom Lowe, founder and CEO of Round 2,” stated Jason Drattell, Praesidian Founder. “Round 2 has emerged as a market leader in the collectibles space and we look forward to supporting the management team as the Company continues to expand its product offerings.”
Glenn Harrison, Praesidian Capital Partner said: “Product design and innovation will always be at the core of Round 2’s growth strategy but we also believe there is significant consolidation opportunity within the highly fragmented collectibles space. We will be working closely with the Round 2 team to continue to build on its already impressive list of brands.”
“I’m thrilled to be partnering with the Praesidian team as they will bring significant resources as we continue to scale the business, both organically and through acquisitions,” added Tom Lowe.
Tom Duffy, Managing Director at Praesidian added: “We are pleased to have closed on another platform company. Round 2’s brands are well-known within the collectibles industry and the Company has an impressive track record of growth.”
About Round 2
Headquartered in South Bend, Indiana and founded in 2007, Round 2 designs and produces model kits, diecast models, slot cars and other hobby products. The Company owns several well-known brands many of which date back to the 1960s. A few of the long-running model kit and diecast brands, include AMT, Hawk, Johnny Lightning, MPC, Lindberg, Auto World and Racing Champions. For more information, visit www.round2corp.com or www.autoworldstore.com.
About Praesidian Capital
Praesidian Capital is an innovative private investment firm focused on providing senior and subordinated debt along with growth capital to private lower middle market businesses in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and selectively in Northern Europe. Praesidian also recently launched a private equity strategy focused on control positions in lower middle market businesses. For more information, visit www.praesidian.com.
To discuss prospective investment opportunities please contact:
Jason Drattell, Founder – jdrattell@praesidian.com (212) 520-2620
Glenn Harrison, Partner – gharrison@praesidian.com (212) 520-2612
Tom Duffy, Managing Director – tduffy@praesidian.com (212) 520-2617
Contacts
Abernathy MacGregor
(213) 630-6550
Sydney Isaacs, sri@abmac.com
Danielle Bell, dnb@abmac.com