NHL Head Coach Takes Equity Stake in Equipment Giant CCM
Martin St. Louis, head coach of the Montreal Canadiens and Hall of Fame player with the Tampa Bay Lightning, is taking a minority stake in hockey equipment company CCM.
Seven7, an investment firm founded by St. Louis, is joining Norwegian private equity fund Altor as a co-investor in CCM. Last October, Altor took a majority stake in the company, priced at $450 million. CCM was previously owned by another private equity firm, Birch Hill Equity Partners.
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Financial details of Seven7's holding were not disclosed.
St. Louis started Seven7 in 2016, a year after his retirement as a player, along with former NHLer Jeff Hamilton and Keith McCullough, who founded independent Wall Street research firm Hedgeye Risk Management. The investment fund largely focuses on sports, media and entertainment. It was an early investor in LiveBarn, a youth sports streaming service that recently hired Raymond James to facilitate a sale.
Founded as Canada Cycle & Motor Company Limited in 1899, CCM quickly pivoted from bike production to making skates and other hockey equipment. The company has a revolving door of owners in its history, including Reebok. Adidas, which bought Reebok in 2005, owned CCM until 2017 when it sold off most of its assets while retaining the apparel division that supplied the NHL. The company also supplies gear for the PWHL, the American Hockey League and several NCAA programs.
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According to CCM CEO Marrouane Nabih, the company is a leader in seven of the eight categories of on-ice gear used by NHL players, including sticks, helmets and protective pads. CCM was second in skates among the 700+ players in the league.
CCM has long been endorsed by some of the league's premier stars, including Edmonton's Connor McDavid, Toronto's Auston Matthews and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. Sarah Nurse, one of the newest members of the PWHL's expansion team in Vancouver, is also part of CCM's roster.
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