Yacht clothing giant Musto is set to sell a majority stake to
private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners in a deal that will net the
family owners about £10 million in cash.

Musto boss Nigel Musto, son of Keith, will only be left with
around 30% of the new company, which is valued at about £40 million.

Former Rothschild investment banker Peter Byrom, who is a non-executive director at Rolls Royce and owns 30% of Musto, is also reportedly in line for a large
cash windfall.

Musto – who know their business and want to concentrate on it – hope that this deal will allow investment experts discover new and expanding markets for them while they carry on with clothing manufacture.

The sale to Phoenix is a surprise to the market, which had been expecting
the deal to be done with rival private equity firm Inflexion, but talks reportedly broke
down a couple of weeks ago.

Keith Musto told YM in December he has plans to develop ‘spaceship clothing’: he wants the yachtsman of 2020 to be wearing as little as possible. ‘The ideal is to aim for a totally breathable, thin,one-piece suit with UV protection which can be worn in the Tropics or the Arctic,’ he said. With this deal he and his son Nigel will now have the chance to concentrate on their dream.