Buffalo-based New Era to acquire lifestyle brand ’47

IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR NEW ERA CAP – A man photographs the Guinness World Record for the largest cap mural mosaic, Thursday, February 2, 2017 in Houston. The cap mosaic consists of 2,151 “Record Breaker 9FIFTY” caps on sale today. (Eric Kayne/AP Images for the New Era cap)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo-based hat company New Era is set to acquire sports and lifestyle brand ’47, the companies announced Thursday.

The deal between the two brands is expected to bring in $2 billion in annual revenue. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

New Era manufactures caps affiliated with MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, over 900 college programs, European soccer clubs, major golf and tennis events, among other major sports. The company’s headquarters is located on Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo.

’47, based near Boston, also sells hats and other apparel affiliated with major U.S. sports leagues.

“Our two companies have a shared history, starting as family businesses going back generations and growing through passion and hard work into globally recognized brands,” said Christopher Koch, CEO of New Era, in a Press release. “Through this transaction, we will offer a broad range of products across both brands and improve the way we serve our customers and partners around the world. We will also have the opportunity to leverage ’47’s strong North American presence internationally into new markets where New Era already has distribution capabilities and a strong customer base.

The company will maintain ’47’s headquarters in the Boston suburb of Westwood and serve consumers independently. The ’47 branding will also be retained.

The transaction is expected to be finalized by the end of 2024.