{"id":33823,"title":"Abu Dhabi seizes designer pushchairs popular with middle class","publisher":"Stockmark.IT","author":"Stockmark.IT Website","published":"2024-07-23T06:50:42+00:00","modified":"2024-07-23T06:50:42+00:00","canonical_url":"https://stockmark.it/abu-dhabi-seizes-designer-pushchairs-popular-with-middle-class/","markdown_url":"https://stockmark.it/abu-dhabi-seizes-designer-pushchairs-popular-with-middle-class.md","json_url":"https://stockmark.it/abu-dhabi-seizes-designer-pushchairs-popular-with-middle-class.json","category":"Business","categories":["Business","Companies"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/stockmark.it/wp-content/uploads/stencil.default-2024-07-23T075005.801.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund has taken control of Bugaboo – a designer pushchair company – from its private equity owners.\n\nMubadala Capital – which is headed by Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour – announced on Monday that it had acquired a majority stake Bugaboo.\n\nBain Capital has owned Bugaboo since 2018, a company known for its pushchairs that cost hundreds of pounds and are popular among the middle class in Britain.\n\nBain will keep a minor stake in the company under the terms of the agreement, which are still subject to approval by regulators.\n\nAntoun Ghanem said that Mubadala Capital had been “waiting for the right moment” to enter into the lucrative market of children’s products.\n\nMax Barenbrug, Eduard Zanen and their team launched the company in Amsterdam in 1996 to provide an alternative to the “old-fashioned strollers”.\n\nSince then, the brand has expanded internationally, selling pushchairs to about 50 countries, and more recently, moving into travel cots, high chairs, and car seats.\n\nThe Bugaboo brand has gained a strong following in the British middle class. Its products are seen as status symbols by new parents who want to be aspirational. They can spend up to £1,500 on a new Bugaboo.\n\nIn the early 2000s, the brand saw a spike in demand after an episode of the television show Sex and the City featured one of their pushchairs.\n\nGwyneth, Victoria Beckham, and Sir Elton John are all celebrities who have been photographed with Bugaboo strollers.\n\nReports at the time stated that the dispute between the co-founders of the firm over its strategic direction clouded the sale to Bain Capital.\n\nAdriaan, the Bugaboo CEO, stated that revenues had nearly doubled in the past five years. He added that the deal will help the company grow into new markets."}