Brynwood Partners and The Sun Products Corporation announced today that Brynwood’s portfolio company, High Ridge Brands, has signed an agreement to acquire the rights to the White Rain personal care brand from Sun Products.
Additionally, as part of the transaction, High Ridge Brands is acquiring the Adorn, The Dry Look, Mink and Toni brands. “The acquisition of White Rain will add to our very successful High Ridge Brands business. We are proud to have created a company with over $300 million of sales in a short period of time. While management continues to focus its attention on growing the company organically, we are fortunate to be adding another very attractive strategic acquisition,” said Dario Margve, Managing Partner of Brynwood and Chairman of High Ridge Brands.
White Rain offers a product portfolio that includes shampoos, conditioners, body washes and hair styling products for the entire family. Products are distributed in the U.S. through retailers in the food, drug, mass and dollar channels. White Rain is an iconic brand with a long history with U.S. consumers and it was first introduced by Gillette in 1952 (www.whiterain.com).
“We are excited to announce the acquisition of the White Rain brand,” said James Daniels, President and CEO of High Ridge Brands. “We look forward to integrating these brands into our portfolio of brands which include Zest, Coast, Alberto VO5 and Rave. We will revitalize the White Rain brand with a renewed focus on providing consumers with new and innovative value-oriented products.”
High Ridge Brands was formed by Brynwood in January 2011 to purchase the North American Zest personal cleansing brand from The Procter & Gamble Company and to serve as a platform for further acquisitions in the personal care consumer segment. In August 2011, High Ridge Brands acquired the U.S. and Puerto Rican brand and marketing rights to the Alberto VO5 brand and the worldwide marketing and brand rights to the Rave brand from Unilever. In March 2012, High Ridge Brands acquired the global rights to the Coast personal cleansing brand from Henkel. High Ridge Brands is headquartered in Stamford, CT (www.highridgebrands.com).
Brynwood Partners is an operationally-focused private equity fund that makes control investments in lower middle market companies. Sectors of interest include consumer products, light manufacturing with low capital intensity and business services. Brynwood Partners has $500 million of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1984 and is based in Greenwich, CT (www.brynwoodpartners.com).
The Sun Products Corporation is a North American manufacturer of laundry and household care products. With annual net sales of $2 billion, the company’s portfolio of products are sold under well-known brands that include all®, Snuggle®, Wisk®, Sun®, Surf®, and Sunlight®. In addition, Sun Products is the manufacturing partner for many retailer brand laundry and household care products in North America. The company is headquartered in Wilton, CT (www.sunproductscorp.com).
“The White Rain brand has deep heritage in the personal care business, and we have worked to protect and build upon that heritage by growing the business behind a broader product line-up and improved packaging,” said Jeffrey Ansell, Sun Products Chairman, President and CEO. “However, our personal care products are not strategically aligned with Sun Products’ core portfolio of iconic laundry and household care products. We are pleased to transition ownership to a company where these brands represent a much better strategic fit. I’d like to thank Sun Products’ employees, who have nurtured the White Rain brand, and High Ridge Brands for working closely together to facilitate a smooth transition.”
