PE Deals

Ronin buys, merges outdoor equipment makers DK2, SnowBear, Currahee Trailer

The newly combined companies will operate under the name of DK2.

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  • DK2 and SnowBear are based in Ontario, Canada while Currahee Trailers is headquartered in Mount Airy, Georgia
  • Steve Malizia, founder and CEO of DK2, will serve as CEO of the newly combined companies
  • Based in New York City, Ronin Equity Partners invests in the industrial and consumer sectors

Ronin Equity Partners has acquired and merged three manufacturers of outdoor power equipment and utility trailers: DK2, SnowBear and Currahee Trailer. The newly combined companies will operate under the name of DK2.

No financial terms were disclosed.

DK2 and SnowBear are based in Ontario, Canada while Currahee Trailers is headquartered in Mount Airy, Georgia. The combined companies will have over 50 years of operating experience.

“These three firms are helping to create a new category of high-end consumers and small-scale professional users for outdoor power equipment and utility trailers. We see significant growth in this prosumer demand for years to come,” says David Feierstein, Managing Partner of Ronin, in a statement.

According to the news release announcing the transaction, the newly combined company “registers annual revenues in excess of $60 million and shows average annual sales growth over the past five years of 40-plus percent.”

Steve Malizia, founder and CEO of DK2, will serve as CEO of the merged DK2. He will serve in that role alongside new Chairman Doug Robinson, a former president of international operations and development for Lowe’s Companies.

Joining Malizia and Robinson on the new DK2 board are four other Ronin Operating Advisors: Jim Core, former president of the professional division at Home Depot; Tory Upham, previously general manager at Dakine; Gabriel Arreaga, chief supply chain officer at Kroger; and Mark Traylor, ex-president of the AMES Companies.

Triago Americas was the placement agent on the DK2 transaction. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and McCarthy Tetrault LLP provided legal advice to Ronin while Harvey & Company and Robert W. Baird were the buyside M&A advisors.

Based in New York City, Ronin Equity Partners invests in the industrial and consumer sectors. The private equity firm was founded in 2019 by Managing Partners David Feierstein and Jesse Yao alongside other former senior executives from Kraft Heinz, NCR, and Diversey.