In May, NOBULL laid off 75 employees, approximately 35% of its workforce. Now, two months later we might have found out why the current title sponsor of the CrossFit Games reduced its labor costs. It has been reported that NOBULL has agreed to sell a majority interest to Impact Capital.
While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Impact Capital is owned by Mike Repole. Repole is known for his success in the sports drink industry. He co-founded Glaceau, which produced Smartwater and Vitaminwater, before selling it to Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion in 2007. Then, four years later in 2011, Repole co-founded BodyArmour, which was also later sold to Coca-Cola.
Repole and Impact Capital’s investment in NOBULL marks the largest transaction in the private equity firm’s history. “I fell in love with just the name, the brilliance of NOBULL and what it stands for. It is no excuses, no BS, just get it done,” said Repole.
It appears that Repole has had his eyes on NOBULL for a while now. Apparently, he approached NOBULL with an offer last year, but was ignored by Marcus Wilson and Michael Schaeffer, co-founders of NOBULL. However, that changed when Repole reached out again two months ago (refer back to the layoffs that occurred in May) and the parties began negotiations.
“Some of the many things that [Repole] and his team bring are operational excellence,” Wilson said. “Mike gets what it takes to go from hundreds of millions into billions.”
As for what that success looks like, Repole has said his plans for NOBULL could potentially include going public via an initial public offering, also known as an IPO.
NOBULL is currently the title sponsor of the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games, but that contract expires after this year. NOBULL is also the Official Combine Training Partner of the NFL and the Official Training Footwear and Apparel of the 2023 PGA Tour.
Source: CNBC