NEW YORK, May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Litorina IV ("Litorina") announces a partnership with Eton Fashion AB ("Eton"), a longtime leader in fine quality men's shirts, ties, and accessories. Litorina will become the new majority owner of Eton and the Davidson family, who started the company in 1928, will retain a 35% ownership. Together with Litorina, the Davidson family will be able to strategically expand the Eton brand.
Eton is based in Sweden and was founded in 1928 by the Davidson family. Since its inception Eton has focused on high quality materials and uncompromising standards in menswear. As a result the brand developed a large, loyal following. Today Eton delivers more than six hundred thousand shirts annually, generating revenues of more than SEK 300 million. Eton menswear is sold in 35 countries worldwide including North America and Russia.
As demand for Eton shirts has increased, the Davidson family has sought a partnership in order to strategically grow Eton. Litorina will become the new majority owner of the company and the Davidson family will retain a 35% ownership. "We look forward to working with Litorina and continue to support Hans (Davidson) and his team in the expansion of Eton. We are confident that Eton will be able to maintain its high growth pace while at the same time continue to deliver shirts and accessories of the highest possible quality," says Tintin Jonasson, 3rd generation of the founding family and CEO of Eton Systems AB.
"Eton is a high quality Swedish company with a leading market position within its niche in the Nordics and with presence at prominent department stores in all of its key markets," says Harold Kaiser, Managing Partner at Litorina Capital Advisors, investment advisor to Litorina IV. "We are very pleased that the founding family has selected Litorina to be its partner in the continued development of Eton."
The Davidson family will remain active in both the day-to-day operations of the company and ensure that the standards set in 1928, when the family founded Eton, will remain in place. "We have many exciting opportunities ahead of us," says Hans Davidson, CEO of Eton. "With Litorina as new majority owner, Eton has the relevant competences and resources to take the next step in our development. We will together focus on continuing Eton's successful expansion in both existing and new markets."
The new chairman of Eton is Nils Vinberg, former CEO of Bjorn Borg.
LITORINA, founded in 1998, is a private equity firm that focuses on acquiring and industrially developing primarily Swedish companies together with their management. Litorina offers broad and deep expertise both via its own organization and through its network of industrial advisors. Litorina Capital Advisors AB serves as an investment advisor to Litorina IV LP. Litorina is backed by a number of reputable institutions that have jointly invested approximately SEK 4.8 billion in Litorina's four funds. For more information, please visit www.litorina.se.
ETON, founded in 1928, is a world-leading brand within the premium shirts and accessories market for men. The products are sold at Eton Brand Stores, department stores and multi-brand stores at 1,000 selling points in 35 different markets globally. Its head office is located in Ganghester, Boras, an area known as the textile industry hub of Sweden. Eton generates sales of around SEK 300 million. For more information, please visit www.etonshirts.com.
SOURCE Eton
