Great White Shark Opportunity Fund has bought Laser Pegs Ventures LLC.
The company was organized under a new group called Laser Pegs Investment Holdings, which acquired all of the assets and the firm’s patent portfolio.
Jon Capriola, who founded the company in 2006, will no longer play a role in Laser Pegs, the new owners said.
Laser Pegs Investment Holdings is owned and controlled by an investment group led by David Chessler, Eric Baird and professional golfer Greg Norman, some of the same investors who recently bought the Sarasota Main Plaza for $18.1 million. Chessler and Norman own an investment fund called Great White Shark Opportunity Fund.
Laser Pegs’ will operate under the same name and remain in Sarasota County. The company is based at 8304 Consumer Court.
“The new ownership group has invested in the expansion of Laser Pegs as it explores opportunities in expansion of the company’s core product lines, new product categories and also acquisition and joint ventures with other toy companies both domestically and internationally,” the company said in a statement announcing the deal on Tuesday.
The company is planning to introduce new products at the Toy Fair in New York this weekend. The fair is the industry’s largest trade show.
“We’re very optimistic about what the investment team has brought to the company already and what the future will bring,” Laser Pegs CEO Rainer Kuhn said. “With new relationships will come new opportunities.”
Besides the change in ownership, Laser Pegs has created a new advisory board, which includes Jeffrey Kennis, CEO of Enchanted Moments and a member of the Toy Industry Association Board, and retail executive Ron Zabel, who was CEO of sports optics maker Bushnell Corp. and previously the L’eggs brand of Hanes at Sara Lee Corp.
Read the story at: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20160209/ARTICLE/160209602/2107/BUSINESS?Title=Sarasota-s-Laser-Pegs-sold-to-investment-group&tc=ar
