Seyfarth Advises Wilson Sporting Goods in Historic Acquisition of Iconic Louisville Slugger Brand

CHICAGO (March 23, 2015) – Seyfarth Shaw LLP advised Wilson Sporting Goods, the official glove of Major League Baseball (MLB), in a historic agreement to acquire the rights to the iconic Louisville Slugger brand, MLB’s official bat. Wilson Sporting Goods Co., a division of Amer Sports Corporation, acquired global brand, sales and innovation rights to Louisville Slugger, a division of Hillerich & Bradsby, Co., (H&B). The deal is pending H&B shareholder approval.

Under the terms of the agreement, H&B will become Wilson's exclusive manufacturing partner for wood bats. H&B will manufacture all Louisville Slugger-branded MLB, Minor League Baseball, amateur player and souvenir wood bats for Wilson. H&B will continue to manufacture wood bats at the Company's downtown Louisville factory.

The Seyfarth team was led by Chicago M&A partner Ted Cornell and included Antitrust/HSR partners William Berkowitz and Brandon Bigelow in Boston.

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