Following news of the purchase of heritage brand Mitchell & Ness by Fanatics, private equity holding company and owner of Lids, Ames Watson, announced that it has joined as an investor in the ‘purchase.

Beyond Fanatics, Ames Watson is the largest outside investor in the Mitchell & Ness purchase, joined by an iconic group of investors. As part of the purchase, Ames Watson will be a significant minority investor and will sit on the board of directors.

Mitchell & Ness joins Ames Watson’s growing retail portfolio, which also includes Lids, Fanatics Lids College and South Moon Under, among others. Ames Watson is familiar with Mitchell & Ness as it has long been a leading brand sold at Lids and its nearly 2,000 outlets. Through the transition of this new owner, Ames Watson will bring his strategic know-how to this investment and will work alongside investors led by Fanatics, Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Kevin Hart, Lil Baby, Maverick Carter and the D family. ‘Improvement.

“We have been fortunate to collaborate with the wonderful team at Mitchell & Ness on our Lids business and we couldn’t be more excited to deepen this collaboration with this investment,” said Lawrence Berger, co-founder and partner at Ames Watson. As Tom Ripley, co-founder and partner of Ames Watson, echoed, “Mitchell & Ness is a truly iconic brand. We look forward to joining this unprecedented team of owners to continue innovating and growing this incredible company. »

This news follows Ames Watson’s announcement in early 2022 that it has raised $250 million in a new funding round as Ames Watson continues to grow. Funding was raised through Lids, a subsidiary of Ames Watson, and the issuance of a private B term loan. Ames Watson plans to use this capital for additional acquisitions and investments for Lids and for separate stand-alone and passive control investments. Ames acquired Lids in 2019 and nearly doubled revenue for North America’s largest physical licensed sports company.