- Business
- Airesis SA (SIX: AIRE) is a Switzerland-based investment holding company that acquires, develops, and manages majority stakes in sports-related brands and companies, with a focus on private equity-style investments in early to late-stage ventures, emerging growth, turnaround opportunities, buyouts, and pre-IPO transactions targeting small and mid-sized firms. The company holds controlling interests in premium sports equipment and apparel brands including Le Coq Sportif, a historic French sportswear label founded in 1882 offering knitwear, footwear, team kits, and performance gear for rugby, cycling, tennis, and Olympic athletes; Fanatic and North Kiteboarding for windsurfing and kiteboarding equipment; ION for watersports accessories; and North Sails Windsurf, alongside prior holdings like Boards & More for boardsports products. It generates revenues primarily through the operational growth and subsequent sale of these participations, emphasizing revival strategies that respect artisanal know-how, sustainability, and proximity manufacturing, such as Le Coq Sportif's French knitting and dyeing in the Aube region.
Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Clarens, Switzerland, with an additional office in Nyon, Airesis operates principally in Europe, with key markets in France, Italy, Spain, and global distribution for its brands reaching over 60 countries; its portfolio companies maintain subsidiaries in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United States, Uruguay, and others. The firm, previously known as HPI Holding SA, employs approximately 10 staff and is led by CEO and Chairman Marc-Henri Beausire. It announced its voluntary delisting from the SIX Swiss Exchange, approved in 2025 with last trading on November 13, 2025, marking a significant strategic shift toward private ownership.
In recent developments, Airesis sold Le Coq Sportif in July 2025 to a consortium led by entrepreneur Dan Mamane, backed by Itochu and others, following the brand's receivership proceedings amid €28.3 million losses in 2023 and €18.2 million in H1 2024, driven by footwear repositioning, kit delivery issues for Paris 2024 Olympics, and disputes with partners like the French Rugby Federation. This divestiture aligns with Airesis's model of profiting from shareholding sales, as seen in the prior 2013 sale of Boards & More to Emeram Capital Partners for €39 million. The company continues to pursue acquisitions and partnerships in the sports sector to leverage its expertise in brand revitalization.