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Mubadala Capital, the wholly owned unit of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign-backed Mubadala Investment Company, is tapping into the baby business by buying a majority stake in luxury buggy brand Bugaboo.
The company has reached an agreement with the US-based private investment firm Bain Capital, which will retain a minority stake in Bugaboo.
Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, and the transaction is subject to works council consultation and customary regulatory approvals.
Founded in Amsterdam in 1996 by Max Barenbrug and renowned for its strollers and premium children’s consumer products, Bugaboo “will continue to expand into growth markets and strengthen its position as a consolidator in the fragmented baby products industry,” according to a release.
“We have been waiting for the right opportunity in the juvenile products space to leverage Mubadala Capital’s extensive scale and global network to further elevate Bugaboo to a leading position in the children’s product and services ecosystem,” Antoun Ghanem, Executive Director and Head of Mubadala Capital’s European Private Equity Team said.
Bugaboo CEO Adriaan Thierry added “Over the last five years, we have almost doubled revenues due to both organic growth and the successful acquisition and integration of complementary brands in the worldwide juvenile products market. With Mubadala Capital’s support, our brand and product design, our teams, and our business partners are poised for the next phase of our growth and development into new markets.”
Citigroup Global Markets Limited served as financial advisor to Mubadala Capital, while Barclays Bank Ireland, acting through its Investment Bank and Robert W. Baird Limited acted as financial advisors to Bugaboo Group.
The baby stroller market size is estimated to hit $4.54 billion in 2024, reach $5.90 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 5.36%, according to research firm Mordor Intelligence.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Brinda Darasha)