Acquisition Accelerates Clarus’ Vision to Scale its Overlanding and Vehicle Accessory Category
Clarus Corporation (NASDAQ: CLAR) (“Clarus” and/or the “Company”), a global company focused on the outdoor and consumer enthusiast markets, today announced it has acquired Australian-based MAXTRAX® (“MAXTRAX”), the market leader in producing the best overlanding and off-road vehicle recovery and extraction tracks, for a combination of cash, stock, and future consideration. MAXTRAX will continue to operate independently as a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Clarus and will be part of the Company’s Overlanding reporting segment, which includes recently acquired Rhino-Rack. MAXTRAX’s net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, were approximately AUD 21 million.
“We look forward to welcoming the MAXTRAX team to the Clarus family and continuing this ‘super fan’ brand’s legacy of “allowing overland enthusiasts to take the easy way out,” states John Walbrecht, president of Clarus. “Our intent is to expand product penetration for both MAXTRAX and Rhino-Rack brands across markets as we see a substantial opportunity in continuing to build our overlanding platform.”
Founded in 2005 by Brad McCarthy, MAXTRAX is considered the creator of the vehicle recovery board. MAXTRAX has developed a product lineup consisting of high-quality vehicle recovery and extraction tracks, including its original MAXTRAX MKII recovery track. All MAXTRAX vehicle recovery tracks are manufactured in Australia using its proprietary, Australian-sourced, engineering-grade and fiber-reinforced nylon. MAXTRAX currently sells its products around the world to distributors, retailers, government agencies, third-party e-commerce sites and through its own website.
“Two decades ago, I got my 4WD bogged on a remote north Queensland beach. As the tide came in, it was almost washed away despite me having all the traditional recovery equipment onboard, and plenty of previous vehicle recovery experience. After this incident, I sought to create an easy-to-use vehicle recovery extraction device. After countless trials and four years of testing, we created the gold-standard of high-quality vehicle recovery and extraction track, and named it MAXTRAX, as in MAXimum TRAXion and Mac’s (McCarthy’s) Tracks,” states McCarthy. “We are excited to join Clarus, a partner that shares our commitment to offering outdoor enthusiasts the best products for their adventures and has a track record of growing successful brands whilst retaining the MAXTRAX brand DNA and ethos of only producing the absolute best products possible.”