TOMS Lands Major Investment From Bain Capital
Blake Mycoskie will keep a 50 percent stake in the social-good shoe startup he founded.
By Jason Fell •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Today is a big day for social-good shoe startup TOMS. The company said it has signed a "definitive agreement to partner" with Boston-based private investment firm Bain Capital. While financial terms of the agreement weren't disclosed, reports say Bain acquired a 50-percent stake in the company.
TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie will retain ownership of the other 50 percent, TOMS confirmed.
Founded in 2006, Los Angeles-based TOMS became regarded for its One-for-One program, by which the company donates one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair it sells. Today, the TOMS brand also includes TOMS Eyewear and TOMS Roasting Co.
"In eight short years, we've had incredible success, and now we need a strategic partner who shares our bold vision for the future and can help us realize it," Mycoskie said in a press release. Mycoskie will apparently give away half of his profits from this transaction by establishing a fund that "identifies and supports" social entrepreneurship programs.
Bain Capital, of course, is looking to up its charitable involvement. The firm has had a bad rap over the years as a group of heartless robber barons. Its involvement with TOMS presumably couldn't hurt.
