Brown Gibbons Lang and Meridian Capital Announce Jacob Ash’s Investment in Emanuel Geraldo
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) and Meridian Capital LLC (Meridian) are pleased to announce the merger of Jacob Ash Holdings (Jacob Ash) with Emanuel Geraldo Accessories (Emanuel Geraldo). In connection with the transaction, BGL and Meridian partnered to serve as the exclusive advisor to the shareholders of Emanuel Geraldo.
Headquartered in Pennsylvania, Jacob Ash is a turnkey provider of attractively designed winter apparel accessories including gloves, headwear, and related products primarily catering to the men’s and children’s markets. The company’s products are merchandised under private label brands of its customers as well as Jacob Ash-owned brands and marketed to a diverse, blue chip roster of retailers.
Emanuel Geraldo, founded in 1982 and headquartered in Montreal, is a premier supplier of fashion-oriented winter apparel accessories for young women and girls. The company designs, sources, and merchandises an extensive line of scarves, hats, headbands, gloves, and mittens. Emanuel Geraldo has strong sourcing and quality control capabilities through its representative office located in Hangzhou, China.
The merger represents a strategic investment for Jacob Ash that greatly enhances its product line, distribution, and sourcing capabilities, expands its geographic reach, and provides for cross-selling opportunities.
Regan Cooper, CEO and co-owner of Emanuel Geraldo, commented, “It was a pleasure working with the BGL and Meridian Consumer Teams. They demonstrated a strong understanding of the nuances of our industry and were able to effectively communicate our story and vision to Jacob Ash. As a result, we were able to achieve the ideal outcome for our team. The partnership with Jacob Ash represents an exciting step for our customers, employees, and supply chain partners.”
Bill Kaczynski, Chairman of Jacob Ash, said, “The Emanuel Geraldo team has built an exceptional business that is extremely complementary with Jacob Ash. We are very excited about our future partnership. The merger enhances our product depth, gender mix, geographic reach, and sourcing capabilities, positioning us as the leading provider of apparel accessories to retailers throughout North America.”
Key members of the Emanuel Geraldo management team will remain in their current roles and the original shareholders of Emanuel Geraldo will maintain an ownership position in the combined entity.
Brian Murphy, Managing Director at Meridian Capital, commented, “We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work with the shareholders of Emanuel Geraldo. Jacob Ash is the ideal partner for Emanuel Geraldo. The combined operation will provide an unmatched solution to retailers seeking a single-source product and merchandising solution for the apparel accessories category.” John Tilson, Managing Director and Head of BGL’s Consumer Team, added, “Rarely have we seen two companies that fit ‘hand in glove’ in so many aspects like the combination of Jacob Ash and Emanuel Geraldo, and we look forward to working with the combined team in the future.”
Brown Gibbons Lang and Meridian Capital are both members of Global M&A Partners, a leading international partnership of investment banking firms. Global M&A has 34 members and provides unparalleled middle market investment banking services to clients in over 50 countries.
About Meridian Capital LLC
Meridian Capital is a Seattle-based investment banking firm focused on providing merger, acquisition, divestiture, and recapitalization advisory services to middle-market companies. The firm has an established track record of serving corporate clients in the U.S. and abroad with $15 million to $250 million in annual revenues. Meridian offers its clients unparalleled cross-border capabilities through its affiliation with Global M&A Partners. For more information, please visit www.meridianllc.com.