Private equity firm L Catterton launches fund with top athletes

LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton is launching a $500mn fund with athletes including basketball star Kevin Durant, baseball player Mike Trout and golfer Patrick Cantlay, targeting investments in consumer companies.

The fund, a joint venture with investor Mark Patricof, aimed to harness the influence of sports personalities to enhance portfolio companies’ values by endorsing their products and brands, the buyout group said.

L Catterton specialises in consumer-focused investments and has backed companies including sandal maker Birkenstock, workout club Solidcore and Indian restaurant group Dishoom. Athletes have committed more than $50mn to the fund and will invest alongside the private equity group and Patricof in a sign of how sports stars are becoming more active in business and investing beyond sponsorship.

The fund’s high-profile backers include American football quarterback Joe Burrow, baseball pitcher Logan Webb and women’s basketball star Sophie Cunningham. It also includes influencers such as former artistic gymnast Livvy Dunne.

The fund is the latest intersection of luxury, sport and capital, as disparate strands of the entertainment industry converge.

Scott Dahnke, L Catterton’s chief executive, said: “Consumer behaviour is undergoing a profound and secular shift driven by the convergence of culture, technology and media. Our proprietary research shows that athletes are among the most trusted and influential voices to emerge in this landscape.”

The fund is called Champ, an acronym of Champion Athlete Managing Partner.

It is luxury group LVMH’s latest connection to the sports and consumer industries. The company was among the biggest sponsors of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, using the quadrennial event to raise the profile of its products.

Subsequently, the luxury brand owner formed a 10-year partnership with Formula 1, the car-racing series. Its Louis Vuitton brand has become a prominent fixture during races, while its Moët & Chandon champagne is sprayed around the podium when drivers celebrate the results.

Separately, the Arnault family, which controls LVMH, also owns Paris FC, a French football club. Red Bull, the Austrian energy drinks group, is a minority shareholder in the team. Red Bull also owns two F1 teams.

Patricof, chief executive of Patricof Co, said: “We have spent years building trust-based relationships with some of the world’s most prominent athletes, and observing that those athletes can drive better outcomes when they have skin in the game.”