Weiman Products, a portfolio company of the Cortec Group, has acquired the specialty cleaning brands of The Homax Group, a portfolio company of Olympus Partners. The acquired brands include Goo Gone, Magic, Stone Care International, Natural Magic, OOPS! Paint Remover, and Gonzo.
“This acquisition made perfect sense for Weiman,” said David Schnadig, a Managing Partner at Cortec. “Homax’s specialty cleaning product line is highly complementary to Weiman’s and supplements already strong brand equity and awareness, particularly with the well known Goo Gone and Magic brands.”
Homax Products, acquired by Olympus in 2004, is a supplier of branded, specialty-application consumer products to the home-care and repair markets. The company’s products are used for drywall texturing and repair, specialty cleaning, pest control, odor elimination, and surface preparation. Homax will retain its larger interior finishing division, which includes a full line of products for patching and repairing textured drywall and ceilings, specialty coatings for refinishing tubs and tile, steel wool and caulk strips for the DIY and contractor channels. Homax Products is headquartered in Bellingham, WA (www.homaxproducts.com).
“Adding Homax’s specialty cleaning brands to Weiman solidifies the company’s position as the leading specialty cleaning products provider in the market,” said Carl DeMasi, Weiman’s President and CEO. “We fully expect our customers, suppliers, and employees to benefit from this acquisition.”
Weiman, acquired by Cortec in October 2013, is a provider of branded specialty cleaning products for the consumer market, and specialty cleaning, sterilization and disinfectant products for the healthcare market. Weiman’s consumer division produces, markets and distributes over 50 formulations of branded specialty household cleaning products, sold under the Weiman and Wright’s brand names, that address cleaning needs within the home, appliance, furniture and other specialty categories. Weiman’s consumer products are sold through retailers in the global mass, food, drug, specialty and e-commerce channels. Weiman’s healthcare division develops and manufactures over 60 healthcare formulas, consisting of detergents, instrument care solutions, high level disinfectants for processing surgical instruments, and general surface disinfection products. The company’s healthcare products are used in the acute, physician, dental and veterinary healthcare markets and are sold to OEMs and distributors. Weiman is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Gurnee, IL (www.weiman.com).
“The Homax management team did a great job growing the cleaning business, which is what made it such an attractive acquisition candidate. It should be a very good fit with Weiman,” said Manu Bettegowda, Partner at Olympus Partners. “The divestiture allows Homax to focus on its core paint business, which should be well positioned to continue to benefit from the recovery in residential remodeling activity.”
Olympus Partners, with $5 billion of capital under management, provides equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion. Sectors of interest include business services, restaurants, consumer products, healthcare services, and financial services. The firm was founded in 1988 and is based in Stamford, CT (www.olympuspartners.com).
Cortec Group invests in middle-market specialty manufacturing, service, healthcare and distribution businesses with enterprise values of $40 million to $300 million. Cortec currently manages over $1 billion in its two active funds. The firm was founded in 1984 and is based in New York (www.cortecgroup.com).
Sawaya Segalas & Co. (www.sawayasegalas.com), a consumer-focused investment banking firm, acted as exclusive financial advisor to Homax in connection with this transaction, and Kirkland & Ellis provided legal counsel.
© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-28-14
