Cleveland, Ohio – October 1, 2012 – CR Brands, Inc. (“CR Brands” or the “Company”), a national
manufacturer and marketer of well-known and affordable branded and private label household
cleaning and laundry products, announced today that it has been acquired by Resilience Capital
Partners (“Resilience”), a leading lower middle market private equity firm. Headquartered in West
Chester, OH, CR Brands operates manufacturing facilities in Spartanburg, SC, and markets its
products under the nationally recognized brands Mean Green, Biz, Oxydol, Pine Power and Magnum
Power. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
CR Brands was founded in 2000 by Rich Owen, the Company’s current President and Chief Executive
Officer and a 10 year veteran of Procter & Gamble. As Mr. Owen saw a growing opportunity to
capitalize on strong but under-served brand equities, together with a partner he formed Redox
Brands, Inc. by acquiring Oxydol and Biz from Procter & Gamble. In 2006, Redox merged with
ChemPro Inc., the maker of Mean Green and Pine Power, to create CR Brands. Today, CR Brands
enjoys national distribution and deep customer relationships with leading retailers such as Dollar
General, Family Dollar, Walmart, Target and Kroger. The Company has also partnered with certain
customers (e.g. Kroger, Publix) to manufacture a broad assortment of proprietary store brand
household cleaning products. The Company’s senior leadership team will continue to manage the
Company’s day-to-day operations.
“I am very excited to partner with Resilience Capital Partners in driving the next phase of growth for
CR Brands. Resilience is an ideal partner for our company given its deep operating expertise and
network of industry relationships,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Rich Owen.
“CR Brands has a strong track record of offering brands that deliver strong performance and
exceptional value to its customers and consumers. We look forward to working with the Company’s
management team to continue to develop a leading household products platform,” said Bassem
Mansour, Co-CEO of Resilience Capital Partners.
Michael Merriman, an Operating Executive of Resilience, has been appointed Chairman of the Board
of CR Brands, supporting the current leadership team led by Rich Owen. Prior to joining Resilience in
2008, Mr. Merriman served as CEO of Lamson and Sessions Corporation (2006-2007), as CFO of
American Greetings Corporation (2005-2006) and as CEO of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co., the
manufacturer of Dirt Devil vacuum cleaners (1995-2004).
Mr. Merriman added, “The acquisition of CR Brands is a unique opportunity to acquire a leading
household products platform with multiple growth opportunities. We look forward to working with
CR Brands and its strong management team to drive growth in its well established portfolio.”
Sawaya Segalas & Co., LLC, a leading consumer-focused investment banking firm, acted as exclusive
financial advisor to CR Brands in connection with the transaction.
Jones Day served as legal counsel to Resilience and its affiliates. Financing for the transaction was
provided by PNC Business Credit and Steel City Capital Funding, a division of PNC Bank, N.A.
About Resilience Capital Partners
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Resilience Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm with a
team of in-house operating experts that bring large company resources to the lower middle market.
Founded in 2001, Resilience Capital Partners’ value-oriented investment strategy focuses on acquiring
companies experiencing a variety of special situations within a broad range of industries. Since its
inception, Resilience Capital Partners has invested in 26 companies under 18 platforms, together
representing over $2 billion in revenues and over 5,000 employees. Resilience Capital Partners manages
multiple private equity funds with capital under management in excess of $320 million. For more
information, please visit www.resiliencecapital.com
About CR Brands
Founded in 2000, CR Brands manufactures and markets a focused portfolio of affordable household
cleaning and laundry products with superior performance attributes. CR Brands’ products are
marketed under the well-known brands Mean Green, Biz, Oxydol, Pine Power and Magnum Power.
For more information, visit www.crbrandsinc.com
Contact Information
Bassem Mansour
Resilience Capital Partners
(216) 292-4748
