KIK Custom Products, a portfolio company of Centerbridge Partners, has agreed to sell its KIK Personal Care (KPC) business to Voyant Beauty, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners.
Centerbridge acquired KIK in August 2015 from CI Capital Partners. Today, the company is a contract and private label manufacturer serving the personal care, household products, pool, and automotive sectors. KIK is headquartered near Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois.
KIK’s personal care (KPC) business is a formulator and contract manufacturer of personal care, prestige beauty, over-the-counter, and household products for consumer product companies and fast-growing asset-light brand owners. The business is also a supplier of personal care guest amenities – including for brands such as Pantene, Listerine, VO5, Loreal and Zest – to the North American hotel industry.
Voyant Beauty (formerly Vee Pak) is a co-manufacturer of beauty and skincare products, hand and body soaps, lotions and creams, fragrance and perfumes, over-the-counter topical drugs, sun care products and hair care products.
Wind Point acquired Vee Pak in March 2017. In November 2018, the company acquired New Jersey-based Cosmetic Essence Innovations, a provider of development services and contract manufacturing for fragrance, skincare, hair care and color cosmetics products, from Littlejohn & Co.; and in December 2017 acquired California-based Aware Products, a designer, formulator and contract manufacturer of haircare, bath and body, and skincare products. In June 2019, the combined business was renamed and consolidated under Voyant Beauty.
Today, Voyant is led by CEO Richard McEvoy and is headquartered near Chicago in Hodgkins, Illinois with seven manufacturing locations in California, Illinois, New Jersey (2), Ohio, Virginia, and Poland; has more than 2.2 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space; and more than 1,000 employees.
“We are very excited to welcome the KPC team to Voyant,” said Mr. McEvoy. “The two businesses are highly complementary in many areas, and this combination will benefit our customers in numerous ways. In addition, the acquisition of KPC will diversify the Voyant’s Beauty business by adding new customers, unique product categories, and aerosol manufacturing capabilities. Moreover, it will expand our manufacturing network and provide entry into hotel guest amenities, a new line of business for us.”
“KPC significantly strengthens the Voyant Beauty business, as personal and beauty care brands continue to value manufacturing partners that bring new and exciting innovation concepts to the table and act as an extension of their supply chain,” said David Stott, a managing director with Wind Point.
For KIK, the KPC divestiture is a logical next step in the transformation we began in early 2019,” said Jared Knudson, chief executive officer of KIK. “We see tremendous opportunities to leverage the common elements of our household, pool and automotive businesses and focus on our core competencies as a pure-play consumer products business.”
Chicago-based Wind Point invests from $50 million to $100 million in companies with EBITDAs of at least $10 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products and industrial products. Wind Point is currently investing out of Wind Point Partners IX LP which began fundraising in 2019.
William Blair & Company was the financial advisor to KIK on this transaction.
Private Equity Professional | July 2, 2020
