Jay-Z & Meek Mill Join Deal With Fanatics To Acquire Sports Apparel Retailer Mitchell & Ness
There was a time in hip-hop when you couldn’t watch a rap music video without spotting your favorite emcee rocking a throwback jersey.
Although the trend is still popular today, it looks like hip-hop heavyweights Jay-Z and Meek Mill are looking to bring back the golden era of sports apparel by becoming owners of the most authentic of them all, Mitchell & Ness.
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The New York Times reports that both rappers, along with other partners that include sports-marketing businessman Maverick Carter, have entered a partnership with Fanatics to acquire Mitchell & Ness in a whopping $250 million deal. Fanatics will reportedly be the majority owner at 75%, with Hov, Meek and the remaining partners splitting a combined 25% share.
More on this big biz below, via The NYT:
“The brand has changed hands several times, with Adidas acquiring it in 2007 and the private equity firm Juggernaut Capital Partners and Mr. Wulff buying it in 2016. It joins other nostalgia brands, like Reebok, that have brought in new owners with plans to bring new life into them.
Jay-Z, who described himself ‘an early adopter’ of Mitchell & Ness, said in a statement that he was ‘proud to play a small role in bringing it back and, in some cases, introducing the authenticity and quality of the Mitchell & Ness brand to a new generation.’
Jay-Z is already involved in Fanatics through his partnership on a forthcoming sports betting division. Meek Mill is a longtime friend of Michael Rubin, the chief executive of Fanatics, and worked alongside him and Jay-Z on a prison reform initiative.”
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The deal makes perfect sense, especially given Jay-Z’s heavily-documented love for basketball jerseys during his early 2000s Roc-A-Fella era. Take a look below at one of our favorite examples, which includes a “his & hers” edition alongside Mya for her “Best Of Me (Remix)” video:
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