Authentic Brands Group secures multimillion-dollar funding to support global expansion

Authentic said its continued partnership with the global growth equity firm will support its “worldwide expansion and accelerate its proven playbook”.

Authentic initially partnered with General Atlantic in October 2017. The latest investment brings the company’s total investment capital in Authentic to almost $2bn (£1.58bn).

The retail group said in a statement that, since General Atlantic’s first investment, it has completed almost 30 brand acquisitions and “diversified its platform through new verticals” including events, media and, most recently, studios.

Authentic founder, chair and chief executive Jamie Salter said: “General Atlantic’s increased investment in Authentic is a testament to the strength of our proprietary brand platform, business model and team.

“General Atlantic takes an innovative investment approach and shares our vision for building brand value for the long term.

“We are proud to be part of General Atlantic’s selective portfolio of first-movers and established companies, and look forward to continuing to partner with them to evolve and scale our model worldwide.”

General Atlantic managing director and global head of consumer Andrew Crawford added: “General Atlantic is proud to be a long-term partner to Jamie and the Authentic Brands Group team.

“Over the past six years of our work together, Authentic has significantly accelerated its growth by capitalising on meaningful M&A opportunities, expanding into key markets and building a deeply experienced management team.

“Looking ahead, we believe Authentic is positioned for continued diversification across categories, license partners, geographies and distribution channels, with immense whitespace in digital and ecommerce particularly.

“We are thrilled to continue collaborating with Authentic to further scale its differentiated portfolio of brands.”