Millet acquired by Inspiring Sport Capital

Jean-Pierre Millet and Inspiring Sport Capital completed the acquisition of Millet Mountain Group from Calida Group on 20 April 2022, in a club deal assembling entrepreneurs and family offices alongside them, returning the business to the founding family five decades after it had left their hands. Headquartered at Annecy, Millet Mountain Group designs and sells mountain clothing, footwear, rucksacks and climbing equipment under two brands. Millet, founded in 1921, supplies alpinists and ski tourers and equipped Louis Lachenal and Maurice Herzog on the first ascent of Annapurna, while Lafuma addresses walking and camping. The group employed 750 people and recorded revenue of €50–100M in 2020, Millet accounting for roughly three quarters of it. Covid restrictions had weighed on both brands, the closure of ski lifts removing the occasion for which much of the equipment is bought, though the business remained profitable through that period. Calida Group had entered the outdoor market by acquiring Lafuma in 2013, when that company was emerging from a loss of 15 million euros, together with the Millet, Eider and Oxbow brands. It restored the business to profit without establishing it as a lasting division, and sold Eider to the Korean group K2 in 2019 and Oxbow to the Rainbow holding company before disposing of the remainder. The proceeds were directed at acquisitions in underwear and lingerie, where Calida Group concentrated its activities around the Calida, Aubade and erlich textil brands, retaining the Lafuma Mobilier outdoor furniture business. Lincoln International advised Calida Group as exclusive adviser.