Bain’s Varsity Brands to Pay $82.5 Million in Cheerleading Suit

Varsity Brands LLC and its owner Bain Capital have agreed to pay $82.5 million to resolve antitrust litigation accusing them of a scheme to dominate the competitive cheerleading market.

The proposed settlement was filed Monday in the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. It follows more than three years of “intensely adversarial” litigation between parents of competitive cheerleaders and Varsity, an affiliate of Bain that sells sports apparel and sponsors top cheerleading competitions, according to the filing.

A group of parents sued Varsity in 2020 in a proposed class action, claiming they overpaid for cheerleading camps, apparel ...