ASB Sports acquires Universal Athletic Team Business

MIAMI – (COMMERCIAL THREAD) – Trivest Partners announced that its subsidiary, ASB Sports, has acquired the team sports division of Universal Athletic, headquartered in Bozeman, MT.

This partnership extends ASB’s sales coverage nationwide, adds important management talent, deepens relationships with key vendors, and brings one of the most respected brands in the team dealership space into the ASB partnership. Key executives from Universal Athletic will join ASB’s management team and invest significantly in the combined business.

Universal Athletic, founded in 1971, is one of the largest and most trusted distributors of sporting goods, uniforms and equipment to high schools and colleges across the country. The Universal Athletic team‘s dealer business includes more than 50 sales professionals spanning over 20 states.

In addition to its team sports business, Universal Athletic operates a large retail footprint with ten stores in six states. While the retail business is owned and operated separately from ASB, the two organizations will continue to work together for the benefit of customers.

Greg Miller, President of Universal Athletic, commented, “Partnering with ASB’s top team dealerships in America is a perfect fit with Universal’s strategy. This group really values ​​relationships with customers, suppliers and employees. It was essential to maintain our culture and our family of employees. Working with ASB, Universal Athletic will continue nearly 50 years of service to the people and communities we call home, while allowing Universal to continue to grow relationships with the right people and members of Sports, Inc. ”

“The addition of Universal Athletic to ASB Sports extends our reach and gives us the opportunity to provide our best service to sports organizations across the country,” said Scott Molander, CEO of ASB Sports. “We are delighted to join forces with Greg and his team to build on the success that our combined companies bring to the market. ”

ASB Sports is one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing national value-added sporting goods distributors, with additional expertise in decorating customers and fulfilling online store orders. With a loyal customer base of nearly 10,000 accounts, ASB Sports is well positioned to build on its reputation for providing a wide range of products from nearly every brand in the market with unmatched local customer service.

As a relationship-driven organization, ASB will continue to partner with Sports, Inc., the nation’s largest outdoor buying team and group.

About ASB: ASB Sports is one of the leading value-added distributors of sports equipment, primarily for high schools and colleges. Leveraging a similar approach to prioritizing customer needs, ASB has grown from a single operation in Texas to one of the nation’s largest independent team sports dealers.

About Trivest Partners: Trivest Partners is a private investment firm focused on partnering with family / founding businesses in the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1981, Trivest has completed over 300 transactions, totaling nearly $ 7 billion in value. For more information, please visit www.trivest.com.