Protection Insert Brand D3O Acquired by Elysian Capital
D3O, which provides protective inserts for brands such as Fox Racing, Scott Sports, Troy Lee Designs, Pearl Izumi, SixSixOne and Endura, has announced it has been acquired by Elysian Capital III LP for an undisclosed sum. The brand was previously owned by the Beringea US & UK and Entrepreneurs Fund.
D3O is an orange material that is lightweight and flexible, but when it encounters an impact, it hardens to provide protection. D3O partners with mountain bike protection brands to provide the protective inserts that go inside the pads they produce.
Stuart Sawyer, CEO of D3O, said “We are delighted to be working with Elysian for the next phase of growth for D3O. Our talented and hard-working team have done an exceptional job at establishing D3O as the market leader for impact protection. We look forward to building on this foundation through continued innovation, delivering best in-class customer service and providing a compelling brand value proposition. I’d like to thank our previous investors for the support they have given us in establishing D3O, we now look forward to scaling the business and realising the significant opportunities to protect people and their things around the world”.
James Cunningham, Partner at Elysian Capital, said: “We have been very impressed with the way Stuart and the team have developed the D3O brand and the breadth and quality of the customers the company serves. We look forward to supporting them as they realise the potential for the brand across existing and new market segments.”
It's unclear exactly what the acquisition will mean for D3O but with both parties talking about scaling the business, it's possible we'll be seeing a lot more the distinctive orange pads in the future.
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It really is amazing stuff and not just marketing hype B.S. and I'm willing to say that anyone who has never owned or used a D30 product and got to test it in an actual crash don't know what they're talking about. (fight me bro)
To me the fact that it's light, flexible and rubbery makes for easier movements and in the event of an impact the material's properties harden up in an instant dispersing a lot of the impacts energy outward away from the body. This out does the competition.
I just hope with the buyout they will invest more R&D to further improve D30's performance and obviously make it more mass produced to keep costs down.
I can understand not washing your pads because you’re not sweating when you ride like a squid and don’t sweat
"If applicable, D3O® protectors should be removed carefully from the garment
before washing. D3O® protectors are wipe-clean only, using a damp cloth.
NEVER use cleaners or detergents on or launder your D3O® product. This
may result in irreparable damage and will severely reduce the effectiveness of
your D3O® product. After washing, allow to dry in a ventilated space at room
temperature; do not use hair dryers or other heaters to dry your D3O® product."
www.d3o.com/media/1162/d3o-consumer-care-instructions.pdf
It's the same for any of the "hardens on impact" protectors. You may not think you're doing any damage, but you can't tell. The pads still look and feel the same... it's the material's ability to harden under impact that is damaged.
My guess it they're going to focus on other sports areas. D3O first got traction in the ski racing world, then mountain biking. They're in CCM hockey gear now. My guess is they're going to try and make a bigger splash in the ball and stick sports world as that market dwarfs what they're in now.