DOMINATING THE FIELD SPORTING GOODS TITANS TO MERGE.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer VAN NUYS - Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American football quarterback who plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts with the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. already straps them on, Lance Armstrong Lance Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France—cycling's most prestigious race—seven consecutive times, from 1999 to 2005. suits up with their gear and their baseball gloves fit the hand of many a major leaguer: Even before it officially exists, Easton-Bell Sports is a monster of the sports world Sports World are a British sports Retailer, formerly called Sports Soccer. Founded in the late 1970's by former county squash coach Mike Ashley, the group Sports World International is now the UK's largest retailer of sports clothing and accessories. . On Tuesday, baseball and hockey products expert Easton Sports Inc. announced a mega-merger with Riddell Bell Holdings, which makes helmets for the National Football League. The combined entity, chaired by Easton head Jim Easton, boasts annual revenues of more than $600 million and covers sports from archery to motocross motocross Form of motorcycle racing in which cyclists compete on a closed course marked out over natural or simulated rough terrain. Courses vary widely but must be 1.5–5 km (1–3 mi) in length, with steep inclines, hairpin turns, and mud. . ``This company is now the number one baseball company, the number one football company, the number one in bike helmets, number one in snow helmets and the number one hockey innovation company,'' said Tony Palma Palma or Palma de Mallorca (päl`mä thā mälyôr`kä), city (1990 pop. 325,120), capital of Majorca island and of Baleares prov., Spain, on the Bay of Palma. , who's presently chief executive officer of Easton Sports and will take a new executive role in the combined company. ``Yeah, there's a lot of number ones here. We like that.'' Terms of the deal, aided by Santa Monica-based Fenway Partners and set to close by the end of the first quarter, were not announced. Together, the company will employ more than 2,500 workers, maintaining headquarters in both Van Nuys and Chicago. Palma said he expects few overlaps between the different divisions, minimizing any need for staff reduction. Easton, whose roots date back to 1922 in Watsonville, specializes in aluminum bats, baseball gloves, bikes, hockey and camping equipment. In the 1940s it became a powerhouse in the archery field and continues to make arrow shafts to this day. Its bow-maker sister company, Hoyt, and Easton Technical Products, both based in Utah, will not fold into the combined entity. Riddell, which manufactures the National Football League's official helmets, has an equally rich history, developing removable cleats for football shoes in 1922. Its helmets show up in sports as diverse as Indy car racing Indy Car racing Noun a form of motor racing around banked oval tracks [after the Indianapolis 500 motor race] to skateboarding, where Tony Hawk endorses its gear. Based in Chicago, it merged with Bell Sports in 2004. ``The combined (research and development) efforts of both businesses will be unsurpassed in the sporting goods industry,'' said Bill Sherman, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Riddell, in a printed statement. Brent Hopkins, (818) 713-3738 brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Tony Palma is CEO of Easton Sports, which will soon merge with Riddell Bell Holding, another sports gear manufacturing behemoth behemoth (bē`hĭmŏth, bĭhē`–) [Heb.,=plural of beast], large, fanciful primeval monster, like Leviathan, evoking the hippopotamus mentioned in the Book of Job. . Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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