KIK Custom Products, a portfolio company of CI Capital Partners, has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire the BioLab consumer products business of Chemtura Corporation for $315 million in cash.
The BioLab consumer products business is a manufacturer and marketer of swimming pool and spa maintenance products. Brand names include BioGuard, SpaGuard, Guardex, Omni, ProGuard and Sun for the Pool. The business, which is headquartered in Lawrenceville, GA, is known as BioLab in North America and Bayrol in Europe (www.biolabinc.com) (www.bayrol.com).
The transaction will be financed through debt provided by Credit Suisse and UBS Investment Bank and an equity investment by CI Capital Partners.
KIK Custom Products is a contract and private label manufacturer of consumer products in the laundry, household cleaners, personal care, spa and pool, and over-the-counter medicated and pharmaceutical categories. KIK entered the pool care business in 2011 with the acquisition of US-based Chem-Lab Products. KIK had sales in 2012 of $1.2 billion and has more than 3,000 employees. The company is based in Concord, Ontario (north of Toronto) (www.kikcorp.com). CI Capital Partners first invested in KIK in 2007.
“This acquisition will be an important step in the next-stage growth of our company,” said Jeff Nodland, CEO, KIK. “We expect it to contribute to generating strong free cash flow while diversifying our product portfolio and expanding our customers and channels.”
CI Capital Partners invests from $25 million to $100 million in middle market companies in the following sectors: business services, consumer services, distribution, government services and defense, and light manufacturing. Since the firm’s inception in 1993, CI Capital and its portfolio companies have made more than 100 acquisitions representing over $6 billion in enterprise value. CI Capital’s existing portfolio consists of companies which collectively generate annual revenue of approximately $4 billion, EBITDA of approximately $350 million, and employ approximately 15,000 people. The firm is based in New York (www.cicapllc.com).
Chemtura Corporation (NYSE: CHMT) is a manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals, agro chemicals, and pool, spa and home care products. The company had sales in 2012 of $2.6 billion and is based in Philadelphia (www.chemtura.com).
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 10-11-13
