Varsity Brands’ $82 Million Cheer Suit Settlement Gets Approved

Bain Capital’s Varsity Brands LLC secured final approval of an $82.5 million settlement to resolve antitrust litigation accusing the company of a scheme to dominate the competitive cheerleading market.

Judge Sheryl H. Lipman of the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in a Dec. 6 order said the “complexity, cost, and likely duration of this case” supported approval of the deal, adding that if litigation continued to summary judgment and trial, expenses incurred by class counsel would have increased significantly.

Lipman’s order closes a case brought in 2020 by the parents of competitive cheerleaders who claimed Varsity ...