# United Sports Brands

United Sports Brands is an Asset Manager based in Fountain Valley, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Fountain Valley, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Fountain Valley, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2005
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** unitedsportsbrands.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/unitedsportsbrands

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

United Sports Brands is a collection of brands offering sports performance and protective solutions for various athletic activities. Founded in 1985, the company is based in Fountain Valley, California.

## Sectors

- Consumer
- Media & Entertainment

## Offices

- Saugus, MA
- Sunnyvale, CA

## People

- Anthony Armand — Chief Executive Officer
- Michael Magerman — President and Chief Operating Officer

## Questions

### Which brands does United Sports Brands own, and what categories do they cover?

The platform owns four primary brands: Shock Doctor (mouthguards, protective cups, sports medicine), McDavid (padded compression apparel, ankle braces, knee supports), Cutters (high-performance gloves for football, baseball, and tactical use), and Nathan (hydration vests, visibility gear, and running accessories). Each brand was acquired for its dominant position in a specific technical category rather than for general athletic-apparel market share.

### Who currently owns United Sports Brands?

Norwest Equity Partners, a middle-market private equity firm based in Minneapolis, acquired a controlling stake in United Sports Brands in 2021. The transaction followed a prior ownership period under Kohlberg & Company, which had acquired the platform in 2017. The current structure is a private equity-backed portfolio company, not a family office or independently held entity.

### How does United Sports Brands distribute its products?

Distribution runs through three primary channels: wholesale partnerships with major sporting goods retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods and Academy Sports, a growing direct-to-consumer e-commerce operation across all brand sites, and team-dealer and league-level sales that supply institutional buyers from youth leagues to professional organizations. The firm also maintains a significant presence on Amazon and international distributor networks.

### What is the firm's acquisition strategy?

United Sports Brands acquires companies that hold the number-one or number-two market position in a technical sports-accessory category — mouthguards, padded compression, performance gloves, hydration — and integrates their back-end operations while maintaining distinct brand identities. The firm targets categories where product replacement cycles, league-mandated equipment rules, and technical specification create sticky, non-fashion-driven demand.

### Does United Sports Brands manufacture its own products or outsource production?

The firm operates a hybrid model. It maintains in-house product design, engineering, and testing capabilities — particularly for regulated protective equipment like mouthguards that must meet league safety standards — while contracting manufacturing to third-party facilities primarily in Asia. This approach mirrors the broader sporting-goods industry standard for branded equipment companies that compete on technical specification rather than vertical manufacturing integration.

### Is United Sports Brands a public company?

No. United Sports Brands is a privately held portfolio company. It was majority-owned by Kohlberg & Company from 2017 to 2021, and since 2021 has been controlled by Norwest Equity Partners. The firm does not publicly disclose financials, AUM, or deployment figures.

### What competitive moat does United Sports Brands have?

The firm's moat is category specificity and replacement-driven demand. Unlike general athletic-apparel brands that compete on seasonal fashion, United Sports Brands' products — mouthguards, braces, protective cups — are often mandated by league rules, replaced on predictable injury-prevention cycles, and specified by coaches or trainers rather than chosen by consumers for style reasons. Retail shelf space for protective equipment is also limited, creating a barrier for new entrants trying to displace established category leaders.

## Related profiles

- [Fox Sports Interactive Media](https://altss.com/profile/fox-sports-interactive-media)
- [Visier](https://altss.com/profile/visier)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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