TenCate Grass acquires a majority stake in Sports & Leisure Group

TenCate Grass Acquires Sports & Leisure Group, a Leading Artificial Grass Solution Provider for Sports and Outdoor Living from Sun Capital Partners and select other Shareholders. Investment marks TenCate Grass’s further expansion into the rapidly growing market for Sports and Outdoor Living surfaces with an estimated market size of more than $12bn annually

TenCate Grass Holding B.V. (“TenCate”), a leading, vertically integrated provider of artificial turf and sports surfaces, today announces that it has acquired Sports & Leisure Group N.V. (“SLG”) by purchasing all the shares of SLG currently owned by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. and select other shareholders. The former shareholders, including the senior management team of SLG, will use part of the sale proceeds to reinvest in TenCate.

Michael Vogel, Chief Executive Officer of TenCate, said: “The acquisition of SLG further strengthens TenCate’s position in the main European markets. SLG’s subsidiaries Limonta Sport and Domo Sports Grass also allow for TenCate to significantly expand its presence in Italy, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. Moreover, the diverse Outdoor Living brands under SLG will further reinforce TenCate’s strategic position within this market segment. We have known SLG and its management for over a decade and have profound respect for the reputation and customer relationships that they have built. We see great opportunities in combining the quality of TenCate’s product portfolio and SLG’s geographical presence.”

John Penninck, CEO of SLG added: “In addition to being strategically aligned, our corporate values mirror those of TenCate and we believe that we could not have found a better partner from a cultural alignment standpoint. This is definitely an exciting new chapter in SLG’s history.”

Advisors

• Stibbe (Brussels & Amsterdam) and Latham & Watkins LLP (New York) acted as legal advisors to TenCate.
• Eubelius (Brussels) and Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP acted as legal advisors to SLG.

About Sports & Leisure Group

Similarly to TenCate, Sports & Leisure Group, headquartered in Belgium, is a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor and installer of artificial turf for a variety of Sports as well as being a major player in the European Outdoor Living segment. Its manufacturing footprint includes plants in Belgium, Italy, China and Paraguay from which it serves customers across the globe. For more information, please visit www.slgroup.be.