Swedish Haglöf sold to Japanese shoemaker.

Swedish outdoors, rugged clothing makers, Haglöf, have been sold to Asics, a Japanese high endurance shoemaker. 

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  Avesta based Haglöf, known for outdoors, rugged clothing and equipment has been sold to Asics.

• Based in Avesta, the Swedish fashion manufacturer, Haglöf, has been sold to a Japanese high performance footwear firm, Asics, for around $133 million (SEK 1 billion) by its owners, the Swedish venture capital firm, Ratos.

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  It started with Victor Haglöf creating and sewing his own brand of backpacks in 1914. (They sold at SEK 0.90 a piece...) Now.. the largest supplier of outdoor equipment in the Nordic region.

• The sale, which earns Ratos around $100 million, covers all operations of Haglöf, which makes equipment such as backpacks, sleeping bags, clothes and footwear for active outdoor life styles and is represented in 18 countries. Under Ratos' ownership since 2001, Haglöfs' sales had tripled by last year.

• "Asics (with 5,350 employees) will be able to provide Haglöfs with the best support for its continued growth outside Europe," said Ratos' CEO, Arne Karlsson.