DALLAS, TX – July 7th, 2021 – Strait Lane Capital Partners, LLC (“Strait Lane”), a family-owned private investment firm, is pleased to announce its acquisition of TTI Sports International, Ltd. (“TTI”). The transaction was completed using a combination of equity from Strait Lane families and its investors, as well as senior debt financing provided by East West Bank.

TTI’s Chief Executive Officer, Ciaran Lynch said, “We are thrilled to partner with Strait Lane as we move forward as a newly independent company. We look forward to continuing to serve the global tennis ball market, which has seen tremendous growth over the past year.  One of the main reasons we know that our partnership with Strait Lane will be successful is their unwavering commitment to maintain the highest level of service for our global clients. They supported our desire to expand our manufacturing capacity by over 30% and we look to have this expansion in place by the end of the year. There is a lot going on in the tennis industry and emerging sports that require felted balls such as padel, and Strait Lane shares our vision for growing the business and meeting this new global demand.”

Strait Lane’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Warren Edwards, added, “We are very happy to welcome Ciaran and the rest of his team into the Strait Lane family. The acquisition of TTI continues our strategy to acquire unique manufacturing businesses that dominate in the markets they serve.  At Strait Lane, we believe that one of the marks of a great management team is the longevity of its client base.  The fact that the TTI’s largest client relationships span over 40 years is a testament to the quality of the products.  We are looking forward to supporting the team as they embark on this new phase of growth.”

“East West Bank is delighted to collaborate with Strait Lane and the management team at TTI,” said Evan Sultzbaugh, VP-Relationship Manager of Commercial Lending. “We look forward to building a lasting relationship with Strait Lane through the closing of this transaction and supporting its future investments.”

About TTI Sports International, Ltd.

TTI Sports International, headquartered in Portland, ME, operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities strategically located in Thailand. For more than 40 years, the Company has been the leading provider of premium felt for the global tennis industry. Its specialized felt is highly engineered to work in concert with the Company’s client’s internal cores for every type of tennis surface and include woven, needled and acrylic products.  The Company accounts for over 75% of the global premium tennis ball felt market.

About Strait Lane Capital Partners

Strait Lane is a Dallas-based, family-owned private investment firm.  Founded in 2009 by veteran executives Mark King and Warren Edwards, Strait Lane pursues investments in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience. Strait Lane employs a buy and build investment approach over a longer-term investment horizon, creating value by helping companies grow organically and through acquisitions.

About East West Bank

East West Bank, is one of the 25 largest publicly traded commercial banks in the U.S., operating 13 locations in the Texas/Southwest Region and over 120 locations in the United States and China. East West Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of East West Bancorp, Inc., which has total assets of $56.9 billion and is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “EWBC.”