Elmsford, N.Y. – Gaming
audio accessories supplier Turtle Beach announced that Stripes Group, a New
York-based venture capitalist firm, has acquired a majority position in the
company.
Stripes Group said its
equity stake was acquired primarily from passive investors while Turtle Beach’s
managing founders, who will continue in their current leadership roles, retain
nearly their entire ownership stake post transaction.
Ken Fox, founder and
managing Partner of Stripes Group, will join the Turtle Beach board and Ron
Doornink, an operating partner at Stripes Group and the former president of
Activision, becomes executive chairman of Turtle Beach.
Carmine Bonanno, founder
and CEO of Turtle Beach, said, “After an extensive process, we are extremely
pleased to partner with Stripes Group and to have the opportunity to work
closely with Ron Doornink. Stripes is committed to our vision of developing
superior audio products for gamers and has a track record of helping entrepreneurs
achieve bold goals through team development, operating experience and strategic
expertise.”
Fred Romano, founder and
COO of Turtle Beach, added, “As we begin to quickly make material investments
in our operations and supply chain to meet consumer and retail demand for
Turtle Beach products, the timing of this transaction with Stripes simply could
not be better.”
“Carmine, Fred and the
entire Turtle Beach team have done an exceptional job capturing the No. 1
market share position in the rapidly growing video gaming audio peripheral
market by developing technically superior products,” said Doornink. “This
business couldn’t be a better fit with the investment strategy of Stripes
Group. The Turtle Beach brand has a
fanatical following among influential hardcore gamers and a long track record
of developing technically superior audio products. I am thrilled to have the
chance to partner with Turtle Beach to meet growing consumer demand by
increasing our retail distribution and accelerating our pace of new product
development.”
With the deal Turtle
Beach said it has received new senior term debt from RBC Bank and PNC Bank “to
support rapid growth and meet oversubscribed channel and customer demand.”
Stripes Group, founded
in 2003 and based in New York, is a private investment firm focused on
growth-stage minority and majority investments in rapidly growing and
profitable internet, software-as-a-service, technology-enabled services and
branded consumer products companies. Stripes Group typically partners with founder-owned
and operated companies that have had no prior institutional investors, the
company said in a release.
