Tiger Finance closed on $8.2 million in growth financing for Outdoor Adventure Brands (OAB)—an ecommerce and retail company known for its Austin Canoe & Kayak stores in Texas and Summit Sports locations in Michigan.
Private-equity sponsor Digital Fuel Capital, an ecommerce-focused investment firm, is an investor in the specialty sporting goods retail company.
“Based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Outdoor Adventure Brands is an ecommerce leader in the snow sport equipment, apparel and paddle categories,” noted Andrew Babcock, Managing Director, Tiger Finance. “As OAB gears up for a busy 2022, this $8.2 million credit facility better positions its brands to capitalize on the expanding sporting goods market. We are thrilled to partner with OAB on its go-forward strategy.”
“We have a long history of partnering with Tiger with a number of our portfolio companies,” said Steve Owen, Vice President, Digital Fuel Capital. “Tiger recognized the value in the business and was able to move efficiently and think creatively to provide the necessary liquidity to support working capital growth.”
Summit Sports is a well-known brand in Michigan, with locations in Belmont, East Lansing, Bloomfield Hills and Brighton. (OAB also operates Don Thomas Sporthaus in Birmingham.) Austin Canoe & Kayak stores are in the Texas cities of Austin, New Braunfels, Houston and San Antonio.
The financing arrangement, which closed on September 29, comes at a time of increasing activity for Tiger Finance particularly with respect to transactions that include an ecommerce platform or consumer brand as a collateral component. Examples from earlier this year include Tiger’s $48.5 million revolver/term loan for Daytona Apparel Group, $30 million credit facility for TerraMar’s $18 million acquisition of Francesca’s, and $6 million funding of Nogin’s acquisition of ModCloth.
“Several factors have come together to drive up demand for Tiger Finance’s product among retail, ecommerce and wholesale companies,” noted Bob DeAngelis, Executive Managing Director of Tiger Finance. “It’s everything from rising consumer demand to spillover effects from supply-chain disruptions. As the need for liquidity increases, Tiger Finance is ready to respond.”
Tiger Finance is a division of Tiger Capital Group, which specializes in the provision of secured debt financing and equity investments, as well as comprehensive appraisals for the ABL industry and the disposition of consumer and industrial assets.