L Catterton Asia will be the controlling shareholder of the combined business, with the founders of both businesses continuing as minority shareholders. This industry-defining move is the first step in the aggregation of the fragmented swimwear/beach wear industry, made possible in large part by leveraging the global footprint of the L Catterton platform.

In December 2014, L Catterton Asia acquired a controlling interest in Seafolly. Following the investment, the company has continued to grow both domestically and internationally. It is now sold in 41 countries, through leading retailers and major online sites, in 32 Seafolly stores (22 in Australia, 6 in the U.S. and 4 in Singapore) and through its own Direct to Consumer e-commerce.

The Colombian beachwear leader Maaji, with presence in more than 54 countries, has 12 stand-alone stores across the Americas, as well as numerous partners such as Nordstrom, Revolve, Amazon, Zappos, Neiman Marcus, Anthropologie and Bloomingdales.

"With this unparalleled combination of Seafolly and Maaji, we look to grow our portfolio and create the largest independent house of beach lifestyle brands. The two brands are market leaders from two large, but distinct beach destinations – Australia and Latin America, with each possessing a very unique style and positioning," said Ravi Thakran, chairman and managing partner of L Catterton Asia.

"When we invested in Seafolly, we had at that stage, envisioned a roll-up strategy to aggregate a portfolio of high quality beachwear brands in a market segment that is large, growing, but highly fragmented. Maaji was the type of unique brand than we wanted to bring on board. This combination will drive many synergies, including geographic expansion, retail rollout and product sourcing," added Thakran.

With L Catterton Asia's investment, extensive network, deep global consumer understanding and leadership in brand building, Seafolly and Maaji plan to expand their markets and grow existing and new swimwear and beach lifestyle product categories such as active-wear, resort-wear and accessories. The goal is to preserve each brand's DNA and heritage, while enabling the brands to enhance their global growth.

"Seafolly is currently a leader in swimwear and beach lifestyle, offering innovative designs and unparalleled fit. Coupled with Maaji and bringing together our target markets and value propositions, this merger will create a unique and powerful offering on the global landscape. With the backing of L Catterton Asia, we will gain access to their ability to source supplies, improve product distribution and enhance retail channels," said Anthony Halas, founder of Seafolly.

"This partnership is a critical step towards achieving our vision of positioning ourselves as a global beach lifestyle leader while continuously meeting the high-quality demand of our #RealMermaids. Seafolly and Maaji rank among the most creative, unique and innovative beach lifestyle brands in the market; we believe joining forces with them through our new admired partner L Catterton Asia, will enable us to deliver game-changing products and experiences to our consumers," said Miguel Piedrahita, Maaji's CEO. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India