Mustad has underlined its determination to become a ‘multi-brand powerhouse’ with the acquisition of award-winning lure supplier LIVETARGET.

Speaking exclusively to Angling International, Kenni Riise (below), CEO of the iconic Norwegian company, says that the acquisition of the Canadian business proves that Mustad is ‘serious’ in its growth ambitions and the addition strengthens its stance within the sportfishing industry.“Mustad has been on the look-out for strong brands with high potential to expand the selection of different quality brands and products in each product group within the trade. We feel that LIVETARGET meets these expectations and more and will support our ambition of becoming a multi-brand powerhouse.

“Not only does LIVETARGET offer premium baits for both fresh and saltwater, it is led by passionate anglers with direction and experience that aligns with our goals and core values. The team there has proved to possess a lot of experience within our focus markets and will be a key asset in our innovation and development processes.”

LIVETARGET joins a group that includes line brand TUF-Line, which joined the Mustad stable in June 2019. Riise says: “We have ambitious and financially strong owners driving us to continuously be on the search for the right brands and people to support our growth strategy and journey of the company.

“We value strong brands with high growth potential that can support the execution of our strategy either by adding new categories, distribution or innovation competences.”

Riise added that, due to the pandemic, all negotiations with LIVETARGET were carried out via online meetings except the last one when the two parties met at Mustad’s facility in the Dominican Republic where representatives of each party were able to travel from Canada and Norway without restrictions to complete the deal.

Talking to Angling International before the news was made public, LIVETARGET’s co-owners, Grant Koppers and Vic Cook, provided an insight into why the pair had decided to talk to potential purchasers 14 years after founding their brand.

“COVID changed a few things for us,” conceded Cook. “The lockdown was tough in Canada, more so than in the US, and it gave us an opportunity to refocus. We rescaled the company into a much more efficient business and used that time to work out how we could take things to the next level.

“All the ideas were in the incubator ready to go, but the question was how were we, as a small company, going to achieve the depth and breadth of our goal? When Mustad reached out we soon realised it was the perfect fit.

“We really like the people and have a deep appreciation of Mustad’s values. And its global distribution and marketing arm will transform this business. How much better could it be? We also wanted to retain some autonomy and the design and creative side. Mustad is happy for us to do that,” added Cook, who will be Director of Global Brand Management LIVETARGET under the new structure.

Koppers will shed some of his responsibilities on the operations side to devote more time to product development.

ABOUT MUSTAD
During the mid-1800’s recession, Mathias Topp had an idea. After having produced nails and wire for twenty years, the Mustad factory near Gjøvik would start manufacturing fishing hooks, and they were going to do it better than anyone else. Topp began drawing a machine where steel wire went in on one side and high-quality hooks came out on the other. In 1877, “The Hook Maker” was ready. To avoid having their innovation imitated by competitors, Mustad came up with advanced ways to encrypt the blueprints and keep the location of the machine secret to the public.

Today, one in four hooks in the world is made by Mustad. The Mustad brand can be found in over 160 countries and covers all disciplines of sport fishing as well as industrial and traditional fishing. We believe the reason anglers continue to choose Mustad is that we do everything in our power to never let them down. As fishermen and -women, we would never accept anything less than premium quality, so we hold ourselves to that same standard. Ever since Mustad was founded on the outskirts of the Norwegian town of Gjøvik back in 1832, we have worked hard to maintain the pioneering spirit that gave us that early edge. Thanks to the passion and inventiveness of our employees and fishing friends across the globe, that spirit has never been easier to keep strong.

ABOUT LIVETARGET
Since its launch in 2008, LIVETARGET has grown into a full family of life-like fishing lures that Match-the-Hatch® to specific game fish forage, with an expansive library of lure styles and colors for both fresh and saltwater fishing. The lures feature industry-leading designs in realism and workmanship that closely mimic nature’s different prey species. LIVETARGET won ICAST Best of Show awards in the hard and soft lure categories in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.