Henkel has signed an agreement to acquire all shares in the laundry and home care company The Sun Products Corporation, based in Wilton, Connecticut, USA, from a fund of Vestar Capital Partners. The transaction is valued at around 3.2 billion euros (3.6 billion US dollars) including debt.
Jun 24, 2016 Düsseldorf / Germany
Henkel to acquire Sun Products Corporation from Vestar Capital Partners
- Henkel to become No. 2 in laundry care market North America
- Attractive portfolio of strong brands with leading positions
“This transaction is a major strategic move for Henkel. North America is one of the most important regions for us worldwide. With the acquisition of Sun Products we will improve our position in the USA, the world’s largest laundry care market, and Canada,” said Henkel CEO Hans Van Bylen.
With the acquisition Henkel will advance to a No. 2 position in the laundry care market in North America.
Sun Products has a portfolio of leading laundry care brands, such as all® and Sun® as well as the fabric conditioner Snuggle®. The company also develops and manufactures laundry brands for leading retailers in North America. In fiscal 2015, the company generated sales of about 1.4 billion euros (1.6 billion US dollars) in the USA and Canada. Sun Products employs approximately 2,000 people and has two production sites and one R&D center in the USA.
“Sun Products will complement and strengthen our existing laundry and home care portfolio with well-established and successful brands in North America,” explained Bruno Piacenza, Executive Vice President and responsible for Henkel’s Laundry and Home Care business. “The Sun Products brands will enable us to further leverage Henkel’s innovation leadership and increase our relevance to trading partners in North America.”
The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.
North America is one the most important regions for Henkel and the USA accounts for the highest sales globally. Today, Henkel has more than 6,000 employees in North America and operates with all three business units in the region: Laundry & Home Care, Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies. Henkel´s portfolio of well-known, leading consumer and industrial brands in the USA include Persil and Purex laundry detergents, Schwarzkopf hair care products for retail and professional customers, Dial body care and Loctite adhesives.
In fiscal 2015, total sales in North America amounted to more than 3.6 billion euros (4.0 billion US dollars). Over the past decades the business in the region has continuously strengthened through successfully integrated acquisitions, e.g. Loctite, Dial, National Starch´s adhesives businesses as well as the hair professional companies Sexy Hair, Kenra and Alterna.
Perella Weinberg Partners and Credit Suisse served as financial advisors, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP served as legal advisor to Henkel in connection with this transaction. The acquisition will be fully debt-financed and is underwritten by Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and BNP Paribas.
About Vestar Capital Partners
Vestar Capital Partners is a leading U.S. middle-market private equity firm currently managing approximately 5 billion US dollars in capital. Specializing in management buyouts and growth capital investments, Vestar invests and collaborates with incumbent management teams and private owners to build long-term enterprise value, with a focus on Consumer, Healthcare, and Business and Financial Services. Since Vestar’s founding in 1988, Vestar funds have completed 75 investments in companies with a total value of more than 40 billion US dollars. For more information, please visit www.vestarcapital.com
About The Sun Products Corporation
The Sun Products Corporation, headquartered in Wilton, Connecticut, is a leading North American provider of laundry detergent, fabric softeners and other household products that include all®, Snuggle®, Wisk®, Sun®, Surf®, and Sunlight®. In addition, Sun Products is the brand-building partner and supplier for many retailers for both laundry and dish products in North America. With annual net sales of approximately 1.6 billion US dollars, the Company’s portfolio of products are sold under well-known brands. For more information visit, please visit: www.sunproductscorp.com.
This document contains forward-looking statements which are based on the current estimates and assumptions made by the corporate management of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. Forward-looking statements are characterized by the use of words such as expect, intend, plan, predict, assume, believe, estimate, anticipate, forecast and similar formulations. Such statements are not to be understood as in any way guaranteeing that those expectations will turn out to be accurate. Future performance and the results actually achieved by Henkel AG & Co. KGaA and its affiliated companies depend on a number of risks and uncertainties and may therefore differ materially from forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are outside Henkel’s control and cannot be accurately estimated in advance, such as the future economic environment and the actions of competitors and others involved in the marketplace. Henkel neither plans nor undertakes to update forward-looking statements. This document has been issued for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute an investment advice or an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities.
