Ludger Beerbaum Stables and Helgstrand Dressage enter partnership to create global equestrian leader
Global Equestrian Group is established as a strategic partnership between the internationally esteemed Ludger Beerbaum Stables, consisting of sports and trading stables specialised in show jumping horses, a stallion station and the state-of-the-art Riesenbeck International Equestrian Center located in Germany; Helgstrand Dressage, one of the world’s leading equestrian sports companies with modern sales and training centers in Denmark, Germany and the US; and Waterland Private Equity.
In combination, the new partnership will have more than 150 employees, presence in 4 countries and revenue exceeding EUR 60 million. Global Equestrian Group will also include the existing activities in Helgstrand Jewellery, clothing and equestrian sports brand Kingsland Equestrian, and other equestrian venture activities. The majority owner of Helgstrand Dressage, Waterland Private Equity, will support and be a majority shareholder of the newly formed partnership.
“I am excited to enter into this partnership with Helgstrand Dressage and Waterland to accelerate the progress of our companies, create a global equestrian leader and unleash the potential of combining deep dressage and show jumping insights. I look forward to cooperate with my new partners as I will head our activities in show jumping and pursue our growth and expansion plans,” says Ludger Beerbaum, seven-time Olympian and a four-time Olympic show jumping champion and founder of Ludger Beerbaum Stables.
The Riesenbeck International Equestrian Center will be expanded and refurbished this spring to offer 300 permanent stables and new outdoor sand arenas, among other things. Global Equestrian Group will also expand the jumping activities within horse trading, training, rearing and breeding with Ludger Beerbaum Stables as a solid platform to grow the presence in the large and attractive jumping market organically and through acquisitions of reputable stables.
“Ludger Beerbaum Stables has a strong reputation and a stellar sporting track-record in show jumping, and the strategic and cultural fit with Helgstrand Dressage is just perfect. We look forward to combining our experience and diversifying our business activities to cover jumping, dressage and other exciting equestrian activities in existing and new markets alike,” says Andreas Helgstrand, two-time Olympian and Olympic bronze medal winner in dressage, who founded Helgstrand Dressage in 2008.
The global equestrian show jumping market is significantly larger than the dressage market, and Global Equestrian Group will address a combined market exceeding EUR 30 billion and build on the group’s strong global position and independent brands to leverage sales synergies and expand into new geographies.
“We are very pleased to support the emergence of a true global leader in equestrian sports by continuing to contribute with our practical experience and targeted investments in Global Equestrian Group as well as driving new markets and other interesting acquisition opportunities in line with our strategy of accelerating growth organically and through acquisitions,” says Kaspar Kristiansen, Managing Director, Waterland Nordic.The day-to-day management of Ludger Beerbaum Stables and Helgstrand Dressage remain unchanged, and the owners will co-invest in Global Equestrian Group alongside Waterland. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
About Ludger Beerbaum Stables
Ludger Beerbaum Stables is an internationally esteemed equestrian show jumping business with sports and trading stables and a stallion station located at the Riesenbeck International Equestrian Center in western Germany. Ludger Beerbaum is a German four-time Olympic show jumping champion who has continued to contribute to the international show jumping community following his withdrawal from the German national team after the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.
www.ludger-beerbaum.de/en
About Helgstrand Dressage
Helgstrand Dressage sources, develops and sells the world’s leading dressage horses and has more than 120 employees with revenue exceeding EUR 50 million and activities in Denmark, Germany and the US. In 2008, Andreas Helgstrand together with the Danish dressage team won Olympic Bronze, and Helgstrand Dressage’s horses have won several World Championships over the years. Helgstrand Dressage has sold more than 800 horses since its inception.
www.helgstranddressage.com
About Waterland
Waterland is an independent private equity investment group that supports entrepreneurs in realizing their growth ambitions. With substantial financial resources and committed industry expertise, Waterland enables its portfolio companies to achieve accelerated growth both organically and through acquisitions. To date, Waterland has made investments in over 600 companies. Waterland has since its foundation in 1999 consistently achieved top tier investment performance. It ranks as number four global private equity firm in the tenth annual HEC/Dow Jones Private Equity Performance Ranking compiled by Prof. Gottschalg of HEC Paris Business School, December 2019. Waterland also ranks as number seven most consistent performing buyout fund manager worldwide in the 2020 Preqin Consistent Performers in Global Private Equity & Venture Capital Report, February 2020. Most recently, Real Deals awarded Waterland with the PE Award for Pan-European House of the Year in 2020. After having raised Waterland Private Equity Fund VIII of EUR 2.5 billion in December 2020, Waterland manages more than EUR 8 billion of investor commitments and has offices in Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the UK, France, Ireland, Switzerland and Poland.
www.waterland.com
Global Equestrian Group
www.globalequestriangroup.com
For further information, please contact:
Ludger Beerbaum Stables – Ludger Beerbaum, founder and CEOFor media requests: Susanne Strübel, tel. +49 172 7303952
Helgstrand Dressage – Andreas Helgstrand, founder and CEO
Tel. +45 40 10 00 00
Waterland – Kaspar Kristiansen, Managing Director, NordicTel. +45 21 18 22 44