First Capital Partners Invests in Kiefer Aquatics

First Capital Partners is pleased to announce its recently completed mezzanine and equity investment in Adolph Kiefer & Associates, LLC, based in Zion, IL.  The transaction involved providing capital to support the company’s acquisition of The Lifeguard Store, based in Bloomington, IL.  The combined company will be called Kiefer Aquatics and will be the leading U.S. company dedicated to selling products to competitive swimmers, aquatics facilities and lifeguard programs.  The combined company will be relocated into a new facility in Bloomington, IL and will continue daily operations under its various brands and businesses, which include Kiefer, The Lifeguard Store, All-American Swim, and Swim Shops of the Southwest.

See Kiefer's full press release below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 3, 2019

KIEFER ACQUIRES & MERGES WITH THE LIFEGUARD STORE

Building the Leading Distributor Serving Lifeguards, Competitive Swimmers and Facilities Everywhere

Chicago, IL: Kiefer Aquatics and The Lifeguard Store have merged to create the leading U.S. company dedicated to competitive swimmers, facilities and lifeguard programs. The combined company will be called Kiefer Aquatics and will continue daily operations under its various brands and businesses which include: Kiefer, The Lifeguard Store, All-American Swim, and Swim Shops of the Southwest.  “I founded The Lifeguard Store 25 years ago based on the mission to serve the lifeguard community.  In recent years we greatly expanded our company and mission to also serve competitive swim teams and their facilities. The combination of Kiefer and The Lifeguard Store will support our shared mission to serve our customers across the aquatics industry” said Mark Oostman, Founder/Owner of The Lifeguard Store.

CEO of Kiefer Aquatics, Jon Muir, added “Working with Mark and The Lifeguard Store team is an amazing opportunity to build on Kiefer’s legacy of leadership in the aquatics industry, that was started by Adolph Kiefer in 1947. As we envision our future - this acquisition and merger will provide the scale, resources and expertise to fulfill our shared mission together.” Muir went on to say “Mark has built a great business and reputation for working closely with the major brands, as well as other distributors, across the industry. We plan to continue Mark’s approach and consider opportunities in the future that will support our mission to serve lifeguards, swim teams, facilities and learn to swim programs everywhere.”

The combined company will also continue to serve customers directly through its various websites and retail locations which include: kiefer.com, thelifeguardstore.com, allamericanswim.com, along with All-American Swim and Swim Shop retail store locations. Jon Muir will serve as CEO of the combined company with Mark Oostman serving as Chief Marketing Officer, Amy Hilten as Chief Sales Officer and Tim Fergus as Chief Operating Officer. The company plans to consolidate all operations into a new headquarters facility located in Bloomington, Illinois.

Under its various brands and businesses, Kiefer Aquatics will be the leading U.S. distributor and specialty retailer offering a broad selection of products from the leading brands in the aquatics industry serving lifeguards, competitive swimmers, facilities, and learn to swim programs everywhere.

About Kiefer & The Lifeguard Store
Kiefer was founded in 1947 by Adolph Kiefer - US Olympic Gold Medalist, WWII Navy Instructor, and aquatics industry pioneer. Kiefer has an enduring legacy in the aquatics industry - over the past 70 years - with the mission to serve competitive swimmers & facilities, lifeguards, and learn to swim programs. The Lifeguard Store was founded in 1992 by Mark Oostman – certified Lifeguard Instructor Trainer and Division I Swimmer - based on the mission to provide the most comprehensive service and product selection for lifeguards. The addition of All-American Swim and Swim Shops of the Southwest operations provided an expansion as one of the leading distributors serving swim teams and facilities throughout the U.S.