High Ridge Brands, a portfolio company of Brynwood Partners, has acquired Continental Fragrances, the owner of the Salon Grafix hair styling brand.
High Ridge Brands was formed by Brynwood Partners in January 2011 to purchase the North American Zest personal cleansing brand from Procter & Gamble and to serve as a platform for further acquisitions in the personal care consumer segment. Completed add-on acquisitions include:
- In August 2011 High Ridge acquired the US 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 acquired the global rights to the Coast personal cleansing brand from Henkel.
- In June 2012 the worldwide rights to the White Rain brand was purchased from Sun Products.
- In May 2015 the company acquired the global rights to the brands of La Bella, L.A. Looks, Soft & Dri, Dep, Thicker Fuller Hair, Zero Frizz, Pure & Natural, Adorn, Mink and The Dry Look from Newhall Laboratories.
High Ridge Brands is led by James Daniels, President and CEO, and is headquartered in Stamford, CT (www.highridgebrands.com).
“The addition of the Continental Fragrances’ brands will enable High Ridge Brands to participate in all segments of the hair styling category, strengthening our position with our retail partners,” said Dario Margve, a Managing Director at Brynwood. “While management continues to focus on growing the company organically, we are fortunate to be adding another very attractive strategic acquisition.”
Continental Fragrances has been marketing the Salon Grafix “white can” brand of premium, salon-quality hair styling products since 1998. Other brands include High Beams (temporary spray-on hair colors) and Healthy Hair Nutrition (natural hair care and styling). Continental Fragrances sells through retailers in the food, drug, mass and beauty channels. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills (www.salongrafix.com).
Brynwood Partners is an operationally-focused private equity firm that makes control investments in consumer focused lower middle-market companies. Brynwood Partners has $700 million of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1984 and is based in Greenwich, CT (www.brynwoodpartners.com).
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 10-2-15
