In the Swim Buys Poolside Express

West Chicago, IL-based discount pool supplies cataloger In the Swim bought the assets of Montgomery, IL-based rival cataloger Poolside Express. Terms of the deal, which closed April 1, were not disclosed.The acquisition includes Poolside’s mailing list, Website, inventory, and toll-free ordering line.

Poolside, which mailed its final catalog last fall, closed its operations the day the sale was completed, and both its Website and toll-free phone line began channeling customers over to In the Swim’s site and toll-free line. .

In the Swim, whose sales are "approaching" $50 million, is majority owned by Svoboda, Collins LLC, a $150 million Chicago-based private equity fund focused on investing in service and value-added distribution companies. "Poolside was for sale, and it was a competitor, and therefore it made sense to make the acquisition for growth," says Patrick Goff, an analyst with Svoboda, Collins. Poolside’s sales were less than $10 million.