Private equity-backed Alphabroder has acquired Ash City Worldwide.

Ash City, headquartered in Lenexa, Kan., is a promotional apparel manufacturer and supplier. The company supplies Ash City, Extreme, North End, North End Sport, Blue North End Sport and Core 365 branded apparel.

Alphabroder, formerly Broder Bros. Co., distributes imprintable sportswear and accessories in the U.S., under the brand names Alpha Shirt Co. Broder, NES Clothing Co. and Imprints Wholesale. The company says the acquisition is a step towards international expansion.

Broder was recapitalized by Littlejohn & Co. in 2012.  The Greenwich, Conn., private equity firm focuses on middle-market companies that are undergoing a change in capital structure, strategy, operations or growth. The firm is investing from Littlejohn Fund IV LP, which has more than $1.3 billion in capital commitments. In December, Littlejohn bought Hostway Corp., which provides hosted information technology services. Also in December, the firm completed an investment in Newgistics Inc., which provides e-commerce services.