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GLD Announces Strategic Growth Investment Led by MarcyPen Capital Partners

via Business Wire

GLD Founder Christian Johnston reinvests in Company and H.I.G. Growth Partners remains minority investor

Investment includes participation from Brand Velocity Group

The GLD Shop (“GLD” or “the Company”), a globally recognized jewelry brand, today announced it has received a growth investment led by MarcyPen Capital Partners (“MarcyPen”), a next generation investment platform that provides strategic capital to early and growth stage consumer businesses that create, move, and lead culture. As part of the investment, GLD Founder, President, and Chief Creative Officer Christian Johnston has increased his ownership stake by personally reinvesting in the business and will continue to lead the Company along with the rest of the GLD management team, which includes CEO David Reinke.

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Based in Miami, FL, GLD is an international lifestyle jewelry brand known for designing both classic and custom chains, pendants, watches, and accessories. Since launching in 2015, GLD has become a cultural force with millions of customers and followers, and is trusted by top athletes, artists, and tastemakers around the world. GLD blends streetwear edge with luxury craftsmanship and is redefining what modern jewelry looks like across sport, music, and fashion.

MarcyPen is joined by Brand Velocity Group (“BVG”), whose innovative approach to private equity blends financial and operating expertise alongside non-traditional value-add resources in the areas of marketing, business development, company culture, and talent management. Existing investor H.I.G. Growth Partners — the growth equity affiliate of H.I.G. Capital — remains a minority investor, continuing to support the Company’s future growth.

Johnston said, “Today marks a bold step forward in our evolution, and is clear validation of the strength and relevance of the brand we’ve built, particularly following our recent successful expansion into retail and women’s categories. MarcyPen brings a rare combination of sophisticated investment capabilities, fluency in the consumer sector, and a deep understanding of the entrepreneurial journey. With MarcyPen, alongside Brand Velocity Group, we’re confident we have the ideal partners on board to support GLD in our next phase of growth as we look to increase our scale while doubling down on our commitment to build a generational brand rooted in creativity and community.”

“We’re excited to partner with MarcyPen and Brand Velocity Group to unlock the next wave of growth for GLD,” added David Reinke, CEO of GLD. “They understand what it takes to scale a digital-first, creative-led brand without losing the voice and community that made it special in the first place. That alignment is rare—and it gives us real confidence as we move forward.”

Robbie Robinson, Co-Founder and CEO of MarcyPen, said, “Christian and the GLD team have cultivated a loyal customer base by creating an authentic brand that blends connectivity to community, a focus on self-expression and customization, accessibility, and quality with a strong digital-first strategy. Our partnership with GLD is the perfect representation of MarcyPen’s commitment to partnering with game-changing brands. On behalf of myself and my partners, we are excited to contribute to GLD’s next chapter of growth.”

“What GLD has built over its ten-year history is nothing short of remarkable,” added Steve Lebowitz, Managing Partner of BVG. “From the moment we met Christian and David we’ve been impressed by their innovative approach in building GLD into the category-defining leader that it is today. We’re excited to join MarcyPen and work with the GLD team to expand their cultural relevance and reach even greater heights.”

Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP and Sidley Austin LLP served as legal counsel to MarcyPen. Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to GLD and Intrepid Investment Bankers LLC served as financial advisor.

About The GLD Shop

GLD is a Miami-based international lifestyle jewelry brand known for designing both classic and custom chains, pendants, watches, and accessories for men and women. Since launching in 2015, GLD has become a cultural force—trusted by top athletes, artists, and tastemakers around the world. Worn by names like Micah Parsons, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Paul Pogba, Polo G, Fivio Foreign, and Snoop Dogg, GLD blends streetwear edge with luxury craftsmanship. GLD is an official licensing partner of the NBA, NFL, MLB, NCAA, NHL, WNBA, and DC Comics, and continues to redefine what modern jewelry looks like across sport, music, and fashion. To learn more or shop the collection, visit gld.com and follow GLD on Facebook (@thegldshop), TikTok (@shopGLD), Instagram (@shopGLD), YouTube (@thegldshop), and Twitter (@shopGLD).

About MarcyPen Capital Partners

MarcyPen Capital Partners (“MarcyPen”) is a next generation investment platform that provides strategic capital to early and growth stage consumer businesses that create, move, and lead culture. The firm provides solutions-oriented capital to leading consumer businesses positioned to meet the needs and expectations of the everchanging consumer, prioritizing strong engagement and collaboration with the companies it invests in. Leveraging its proprietary and global ecosystem of relationships with entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders of industry, MarcyPen provides strategic insights and guidance that help business builders scale. The firm pursues investments across subsectors that include beauty & personal care, consumer products, fashion & lifestyle, food & beverage, health & wellness, marketplaces, PR & creative, and tech-enabled services.

About Brand Velocity Group

Brand Velocity Group is a diversified investment platform focused on disrupting and improving the private equity industry’s traditional approach to growing consumer-facing businesses, with an emphasis on the idea that marketing works and people matter. By combining the team’s decades of finance and operating expertise with leading in-house marketing and employee development resources, BVG has developed a unique and demonstrated approach to accelerating growth of the businesses they partner with. As one example, the BVG team believes that private equity can and should be a positive force in driving company culture, and in support, they "Share the Gains" with portfolio company employees in recognition of the value they create by making each employee an equity holder. BVG has also launched two specialty sub-verticals – Brand Velocity Group Sports ("BVGS") and BVG Fashion & Apparel – that leverage the firm’s strengths in these categories. To learn more about BVG, its portfolio companies, and its innovative growth strategies, please visit www.BrandVelocityGroup.com.

About H.I.G. Growth Partners

H.I.G. Growth Partners is the dedicated growth capital investment affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global alternative investment firm with $70 billion of capital under management.* H.I.G. Growth seeks to make both majority and minority investments in strong, growth-oriented businesses located throughout North America, Europe, and Latin America. H.I.G. Growth Partners considers investments across all industries but focuses on certain high-growth sectors where it has extensive in-house expertise, such as technology, healthcare, internet and media, consumer products and technology-enabled financial and business services. H.I.G. Growth strives to work closely with its management teams to serve as an experienced resource, providing broad-based strategic, operational, recruiting, and financial management services from a vast in-house team and a substantial network of third-party relationships. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at HIGgrowth.com.

*Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.

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