High Ridge Brands To Acquire the White Rain Brand from Sun Products

GREENWICH, Conn. and WILTON, Conn., June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Brynwood Partners VI L.P. and The Sun Products Corporation jointly announced today that Brynwood VI's portfolio company, High Ridge Brands Co., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the rights to the White Rain® personal care brand from Sun Products. Additionally, as part of the transaction, High Ridge Brands is acquiring the Adorn®, The Dry Look®, Mink® and Toni® brands. Terms and conditions of the transaction, which is scheduled to close on July 2nd, will not be disclosed.

White Rain, an iconic brand with a long history with U.S. consumers, was first introduced by Gillette in 1952. The brand was originally advertised with the tagline, "your lovely hair is the essence of romance, so keep it sunshine bright with White Rain." Today, White Rain products provide hydration and moisturizing benefits to its many loyal users. White Rain offers a diverse product portfolio that includes shampoos, conditioners, body washes and hair styling products for the entire family. Products are widely distributed in the U.S. through leading retailers in the food, drug, mass and dollar channels.

"We are excited to announce the acquisition of the White Rain brand," said James Daniels, President and CEO of High Ridge Brands. Mr. Daniels continued, "We look forward to integrating these brands into our portfolio of iconic brands which include Zest®, Coast®, Alberto VO5® and Rave®. We will revitalize the White Rain brand with a renewed focus on providing consumers with new and innovative value-oriented products."

"The White Rain brand has deep heritage in the personal care business, and we have worked to protect and build upon that heritage by growing the business behind a broader product line-up and improved packaging," said Jeffrey P. Ansell, Sun Products Chairman, President and CEO. "However, our personal care products are not strategically aligned with Sun Products' core portfolio of iconic laundry and household care products. We are pleased to transition ownership to a company where these brands represent a much better strategic fit. I'd like to thank Sun Products' employees, who have nurtured the White Rain brand, and High Ridge Brands for working closely together to facilitate a smooth transition."

"The acquisition of White Rain will add to our very successful High Ridge Brands business. We are proud to have created a company with over $300 million of sales in a short period of time. While management continues to focus its attention on growing the company organically, we are fortunate to be adding another very attractive strategic acquisition," said Dario Margve, Managing Partner of Brynwood VI and Chairman of High Ridge Brands.

Brynwood Partners has developed a unique niche of being the lower middle market firm of choice for corporate divestitures. In its 28-year history, Brynwood Partners has acquired 35 corporate brands from 14 different corporate sellers, including the Sun Products' acquisition. Since January 2011, the firm has successfully completed the acquisitions of 19 corporate brands in six separate transactions.

"On behalf of Brynwood Partners and High Ridge Brands, I would like to thank the Sun Products team for its partnership in planning the sale and transition of the business," said Henk Hartong III, Senior Managing Partner of Brynwood Partners.

About Brynwood Partners:
Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, Brynwood Partners is an operationally-focused private equity fund that makes control investments in lower middle market companies. Brynwood Partners targets companies operating in the following sectors: (a) consumer products, (b) light manufacturing with low capital intensity and (c) business services.

Brynwood Partners is currently managing over $500 million of private equity capital for its limited partners who include U.S. and international pension funds, fund-of-funds, endowments, high net worth family investment offices and financial institutions. For more information on Brynwood Partners, please visit www.brynwoodpartners.com.

About High Ridge Brands Co.:
High Ridge Brands Co., headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, was formed by Brynwood VI in January 2011 to purchase the North American Zest personal cleansing brand from the The Procter & Gamble Company and to serve as a platform for further acquisitions in the personal care consumer segment. In August 2011, High Ridge Brands acquired the U.S. and Puerto Rican brand and marketing rights to the Alberto VO5 brand and the worldwide marketing and brand rights to the Rave brand from Unilever. In March 2012, High Ridge Brands acquired the global rights to the Coast personal cleansing brand from Henkel.  For more information on High Ridge Brands, please visit www.highridgebrands.com.

About The Sun Products Corporation:
The Sun Products Corporation, headquartered in Wilton, Connecticut, is a leading North American manufacturer of laundry and household care products. With annual net sales of $2 billion, the company's portfolio of products are sold under well-known brands that include all®, Snuggle®, Wisk®, Sun®, Surf®, and Sunlight®. In addition, Sun Products is the manufacturing partner for many retailer brand high quality laundry and household care products in North America. For more information visit www.sunproductscorp.com.

SOURCE Brynwood Partners VI L.P.