Northern Tool + Equipment has sold off South St. Paul-based Sportsman's Guide along with online retailer Golf Warehouse to a Michigan investment firm in a deal finalized this week.
South St. Paul-based Sportsman's Guide sold to Michigan investment firm
Northern Tool + Equipment purchased the Sportsman's Guide along with the Golf Warehouse in 2013 and sold them both to BHG Ventures this week.
August 27, 2021 at 10:19PM
Terms of the sale to BHG Ventures were not disclosed.
Northern Tool, with headquarters in Burnsville, purchased the two sporting goods retailers in 2012 for $215 million. The brands operate independently but fall under the same corporate umbrella led by Chief Executive Franz Weiglein, based in St. Paul.
Weiglein did not return a call seeking comment. In a statement announcing the deal, Weiglein said new ownership will bring "stability and investment" to the two retailers.
Sportsman's Guide was launched in 1976, and it sells firearms as well as fishing and camping gear out of its store in South St. Paul. A California real estate investor paid more than $16 million in 2017 for the store and warehouse building, which also serves as the hub of online and catalog operations.
The Golf Warehouse, based in Wichita, Kan., is now an online-only retailer of clubs, shoes, apparel and equipment used in golf, baseball and softball.
BHG Venture said that the acquisition of Sportsman's Guide and the Golf Warehouse provides an opportunity "to capture accelerating tailwinds within the fitness and recreation industry." The investment firm, based in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, invests in companies focused on recreation and fitness, health and home services.
Northern Tool + Equipment operates about 120 stores in 22 states and specializes in power tools and equipment used by building contractors and do-it-yourselfers. The family-owned retailer brought on its first outside CEO in company history, Suresh Krishna, in April 2020.
Krishna has pledged to bring more innovation to the billion-dollar retailer. In an e-mailed response seeking comment on the sale of Sportsman's Guide and the Golf Warehouse, Northern Tool + Equipment issued a broad statement, saying in part, "2021 is an exciting and strategically significant year" for the company.
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