Branford Castle has closed its sale of Earthlite Massage Tables to Valesco Industries.
Earthlite, a portfolio company of Branford Castle since July 2016, is a manufacturer of over 300 SKUs of massage tables, alternative beauty and wellness equipment, supplies and accessories, oils and creams, manicure and pedicure equipment, and medical exam equipment.
Company owned brands include Living Earth Crafts, Stronglite, Earthlite, Inner Strength, and Tara Spa Therapy brands. Earthlite’s most prominent products are its massage tables, which the company claims have a leading market share. Earthlite serves more than 4,000 customers in over 120 countries. The company, led by CEO Jim Chenevey, is headquartered in Vista, California, just north of San Diego.
“We had a great run with the team at Branford. They were very supportive throughout their hold period, especially during the COVID slow-down,” said Mr. Chenevey. “Further, when we came to them with growth initiatives, they were always receptive. We leave our partnership a much larger and stronger organization.”
Earthlite was acquired by Branford Castle through its first fund in July 2016. During Branford’s ownership term Earthlite more than doubled its EBITDA through both organic growth and the close of two add-on acquisitions: Continuum Footspas, a Wisconsin-based maker of pedicure chairs, in September 2017; and Tara Spa Therapy, a California-based provider of lotions and creams used in the spa industry including at many luxury hotel chains and high-end day spas, in April 2019.
“Exiting businesses is bittersweet. We have had such a fantastic experience with the entire Earthlite management team, including Jim Chenevey, John Bailey, Jorge Pineda, Jennifer Gruene, Naoko Barboo, and many others,” said John S. Castle, the president and CEO of Branford Castle. “They have built the pre-eminent brands of their kind in the Spa industry, brands that bring smiles to the faces of massage therapists and end customers the world over. We wish Earthlite incredible continued success with its new owner.”
Dallas-headquartered Valesco was founded in 1993 and is led by Bud Moore, Heather Hubbard and Jack Sadden. The firm makes control and non-control investments of equity and subordinated debt in United States-based companies that have from $15 million to $100 million in revenue, a history of profitability, and at least $3 million of cash flow. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, value-added distribution and business services.
Branford Castle invests in companies that have enterprise values of up to $100 million and EBITDA of less than $15 million. Sectors of interest include industrials and specialty manufacturing, consumer products and services, commercial distribution, business services, and logistics. The firm was founded in 1986 and for the past 16 years has been led by President and CEO John S. Castle and Managing Partner David Castle. In addition to its New York City headquarters, the firm also has an office in Boca Raton, Florida.
CIBC Capital Markets was the financial advisor to Earthlite with Chris Larsen, Jim Olson and John Peterson leading CIBC’s transaction team.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | July 16, 2024
