NEW YORK (AP) — The 131-year-old Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. is being sold to a private equity fund for about $395 million.
The iconic sports gear maker, which has outfitted children and pros alike, from Roberto Clemente and Mickey Mantle, to Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant and Giancarlo Stanton, is being acquired by a fund managed by Seidler Equity Partners.
Major League Baseball, which relies on Rawlings for its official game ball, is a co-investor.
Chris Marinak, an MLB executive vice president, said Tuesday that the ball is “one of the most important on-field products to the play of our great game.”
Newell Brands Inc. said Tuesday that it was selling the company, founded in St. Louis in 1887, to better focus on its core brands. It recently sold its disposable cups and cutlery business for about $2.2 billion. The Hoboken, New Jersey, company owns Sharpie, Calphalon and Rubbermaid.
The sale is expected to close in the next two months.
