Promus Equity Partners has acquired Quest Products in partnership with the company’s management team.
Quest Products is a consumer packaged goods company that manufactures and manages its own brands, distributes over 100 national brands, sells to retail and online stores, provides drop-ship services, and manages retail websites. Some of Quest’s top-selling brands include ALOCANE Emergency Burn Gel, ProVent skin solutions and natural oils, AlcoHAWK personal breathalyzers, CopperFixx pain relief cream and Blue Guard eye supplements.
Quest distributes over 7,000 SKUs and partners with most major chain and e-commerce retailers in North America and it is also a certified drop-ship fulfillment partner with over 40 online retailers. Customers of Quest include Walmart, Target, Meijer, Shopko, Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Costco, Sam’s Club Shoppers Drug Mart, Safeway, Publix, Amazon.com, Overstock.com, Best Buy, and Wayfair and others.
Simultaneous with the buy of Quest, the company completed the add-on acquisition of Clinere Products, a brand of patented, flexible ear cleaning tools that are designed to safely and effectively remove earwax, dirt, and debris out of ears. The company is based in Mundelein, IL (www.clinere.com).
Quest, founded in 2001, is led by Mike Brennan, Mark McGreevy, Mark Milliman and Don Ryan and is headquartered in Pleasant Prairie, WI (www.questproductsinc.com).
“The Quest management team has built a very impressive company, and we are honored to be part of the next stage of the company’s growth,” said Promus Partner Steve Brown. “We are eager to get to work to help build the company’s brands.”
Promus Equity Partners is a private equity investment firm affiliated with Promus Holdings, a multi-family asset management firm. Promus targets lower middle market companies with EBITDA’s of $15 million or less. Sectors of interest include consumer products, food & beverage, industrial products, manufacturing services, specialty materials, distribution, and business services. The firm is based in Chicago (www.promusequity.com).
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Promus,” said Don Ryan, Quest’s founder. “Their involvement will help us expand our portfolio of products through internal growth and acquisition.”
Capstone Headwaters was the financial advisor to Quest Products. “We have discussed market timing for a recapitalization with Quest’s ownership for quite some time and we are pleased to have assisted them in the partnership with Promus this year,” said Ted Polk, Managing Director at Capstone Headwaters. “Quest has a very talented management team with a history of building strong consumer brands. We look forward to watching their continued success.”
Avante Mezzanine Partners (www.avantemezzanine.com) provided mezzanine debt and participated in the equity investment, while MB Financial (www.mbfinancial.com) provided a senior credit facility.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 7, 2018