Victor Capital Partners has acquired Tender Corporation, a maker of insect repellents, bite treatments, first aid kits and burn treatment products, from Prospect Partners which acquired the company in September 2008.
Tender’s recreational outdoor products include personal care, survival, and first aid products such as insect bite treatment After Bite; a line of insect repellents under the brands Ben’s and Natrapel; first-aid kits under the brands Adventure Medical Kits and Easy Care First Aid; survival products under the Survive Outdoors Longer brand; and burn remedy products under the brand AfterBurn.
Tender’s portfolio of products are sold through various retail channels, including food, drug and mass merchandisers, outdoor and sporting goods stores, and promotional product distributors. Tender Corporation was founded in 1973 and has a manufacturing and headquarters facility in Littleton, NH and a marketing and sales office in Alameda, CA (www.tendercorp.com).
Victor Capital partnered with the management team of Tender, including CEO Jason Cartwright, on this transaction. “Partnering with Victor Capital will ensure continued and accelerated growth and innovation for Tender Corporation’s strong portfolio of brands and allow us to better serve our global retail and online partners and our loyal consumers,” said Mr. Cartwright. “The relationship will also allow the company to continue its successful strategy of selectively introducing and acquiring new innovative products and brands that can benefit from our global distribution relationships.”
“We are excited to be partnering with Jason and the Tender Corporation team in the next chapter of the company’s growth,” said Doug Korn, managing partner of Victor Capital. “We look forward to helping the company expand its reach into new markets, enhance its core product offerings, and continue the strong growth trajectory it has enjoyed in recent years.”
Victor Capital invests from $20 million to $100 million in middle-market companies that have EBITDA from $10 million to $100 million and are active in industrial manufacturing and technology, industrial and business services, and specialty consumer products and services. The firm was founded in September 2015 and is headquartered in New York (www.victorcapitalpartners.com).
Also investing in this transaction alongside Victor Capital is consumer packaged goods executive Gary Kiedaisch who has been named as Tender’s new chairman of the board. Mr. Kiedaisch recently served as chairman and CEO of Igloo Products Corporation, and as CEO of the Coleman Company. “Tender Corporation has an impressive portfolio of products that can be used in almost every household around the world,” said Mr. Kiedaisch. “This iconic company has a long history of marketing the highest quality products, helping people enjoy the outdoors while staying safe and comfortable.”
Prospect Partners, the seller of Tender, focuses exclusively on management-led leveraged recapitalizations and acquisitions of niche market leaders with revenues of less than $75 million. Areas of interest include niche manufacturing, distribution, and specialty service markets. Since 1998, Prospect Partners has built 50 platforms by investing in more than 150 businesses. The firm is based in Chicago (www.prospect-partners.com).
Financing for the transaction was provided by Deerpath Capital Management (www.deerpathcapital.com).
Piper Jaffray (www.piperjaffray.com) was the financial advisor of Prospect Partners.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | February 1, 2019