Bain Capital Buys Toms, Will Still Give Away Shoes

Toms, a canvas shoe empire, has agreed to sell half of itself to Bain Capital, a private equity giant, in a deal that values the 8-year-old footwear brand at $625 million—a little bigger than Quiksilver, roughly on a par with SodaStream.

For Toms founder Blake Mycoskie, the transaction is the validation of a vision and a huge payday. It also brings Toms some blue-chip corporate clout as it expands its product offering and looks to expand abroad. “This partnership will enable Toms to grow faster and give to more people in more ways than we could otherwise,” Mycoskie said in the statement.