Investment firm Golden Gate Capital has acquired Venus Swimwear Inc., WinterSilks LLC and Venus Manufacturing in partnership with the companies’ existing shareholders.
Venus is known for its beach-inspired lifestyle brand of fun and sexy swimwear, apparel and accessories and is considered the largest U.S. direct mail and online marketer of women’s swimwear, according to Golden Gate.
The Venus Swimwear deal follows Golden Gate’s September acquisition of Carabella, another swimwear title. Both complement the company’s Spiegel and Newport News brands, which have large swimwear offerings.
WinterSilks a subsidiary of Venus, is the leading direct marketer of silk undergarments, apparel and accessories in the U.S. and targets affluent, educated men and women over the age of 50.
The WinterSilks deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions of baby-boomer oriented titles by San Francisco-based Golden Gate(www.goldengatecap.com)’s portfolio company, Catalog Holdings Inc., including Appleseed’s in November 2005, Norm Thompson, Solutions and Sahalie in March 2006, and Haband in October 2006.
Venus was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. It will continue to operate at its current locations, including a buying office in Boca Raton, FL, a manufacturing facility in upstate New York and the WinterSilks headquarters in Madison, WI.
