Authentic Brands Group expects IPO in next 12 months as new CEO steps in, founder tells CNBC
The founder of Authentic Brands Group, the management firm behind dozens of retail names including Reebok, Champion and Brooks Brothers, said he expects to take
The founder of Authentic Brands Group, the management firm behind dozens of retail names including Reebok, Champion and Brooks Brothers, said he expects to take the company public in the next 12 months as he announced a former Wynn Resorts CEO will be its next chief executive. In an exclusive interview with CNBC's Sara Eisen, Jamie Salter said Authentic's president, Matt Maddox, who joined the firm as president in January 2025 after a 20-year career at Wynn, will take over as CEO so Salter can transition to executive chairman.
When asked if this means the company is headed for an initial public offering, Salter said he expects the company to go public "sometime in the next 12 months." "There's no doubt about it that Matt is definitely a great Wall Street CEO," said Salter. "We've almost gone public twice, we've filed twice and both times we were taken out by other private equity firms at much higher prices. I think this time, the company has grown so big that I think this time we'll probably end up going public sometime in the next 12 months." Salter said the transition is necessary because he's trying to grow Authentic into a $100 billion company over the next five years, and said he needs to spend "100% of my time" focused on the mergers and acquisitions that have long formed the lifeblood of his business.
In his new role, Salter will remain "deeply engaged in the business" but will focus on long-term strategy, Authentic said in a news release. Maddox will lead day-to-day operations with a mandate
to scale the business, drive organic growth, and create value for the firm's "shareholders and partners." In a release, Maddox added "the opportunity ahead is significant, and we are just getting started."
The BriefWire