Gemspring Capital has acquired Bradford Soap International, a developer, formulator, and manufacturer of beauty and personal care products.
Bradford’s products include specialty soaps, shampoo bars, conditioner bars, facial cleansing sticks, bath fizzes and bombs, sponges, and other specialty items. The company’s customers include both large-scale CPGs and emerging brands.
Source: Bradford Soap International
Bradford is headquartered near Providence in West Warwick, Rhode Island, with additional facilities in Columbus, Indiana; and Calexico, California.
“We are extremely proud of the legacy we have built as a quality and trusted partner to our customers,” said Stuart Benton, the president and CEO of Bradford. “We’re pleased to have found an engaged and knowledgeable partner like Gemspring who shares our vision and has a proven track record of partnering with entrepreneurial teams to build high-growth companies. In this next phase of growth, we look forward to broadening both our capabilities and product portfolio while further establishing our position as the manufacturing and development partner of choice to leading beauty and personal care brands.”
“The market-leading and differentiated capabilities Bradford has built over its long, successful history are impressive,” said Kristin Steen, a managing director at Gemspring. “We’re excited to partner with Stu and the entire management team to build on Bradford’s unparalleled product quality to accelerate the company’s growth. In addition to a number of compelling organic growth initiatives, we intend to expand the platform through strategic opportunities to extend the capabilities and product offerings Bradford can provide its brand partners.”
Source: Bradford Soap International
Bradford was founded in 1876 by James Rogers and William Murgatroyd of Bradford, England, as a supplier of flake soap used by New England-based textile mills to scour wool. In the early 1900s, Bradford moved into other industrial soap applications, including selling its products to paper mills in the northeast. In the 1960s, with the paper industry moving to the northwest and the textile industry moving south, Bradford diversified into personal care products and in 2002 was the first US soap manufacturer to receive organic certification.
Gemspring invests in companies that have revenues of up to $500 million. Sectors of interest include aerospace and defense; business and consumer services; financial and insurance services; industrial services; software and tech-enabled services; healthcare services and specialty manufacturing.
In January 2023, Gemspring closed two funds, Gemspring Capital Fund III LP, its third buyout fund, at $1.7 billion, and Gemspring Growth Solutions Fund I LP, its first non-control investment fund, at an oversubscribed $400 million. With the closing of these two new funds, Westport, Connecticut-based Gemspring now has $3.4 billion of capital under management.
Guggenheim Securities was the financial advisor to Bradford Soap on this transaction.
Gemspring Capital has acquired Bradford Soap International, a developer, formulator, and manufacturer of beauty and personal care products.
