Edgewell Personal Care Company announced that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Cremo, a men’s grooming brand, for $235 million in an all-cash transaction.

WHO: The California-based Cremo was founded by Mike Boone and Kyle Schroeder in 2005 with a mission to create the best shaving cream possible that was accessible to everyone. The brand is grounded in old-fashioned value, quality, performance, and customer care with products designed to simplify the grooming experience. The brand now consists of nearly 75 SKUs across beard, hair, shave prep, and skincare categories, with masstige positioning across e-commerce and mass retailers like Target, Walmart, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid.

Edgewell is a leading pure-play consumer products company with an attractive, diversified portfolio of over 25 established brand names such as Schick and Wilkinson Sword men’s and women’s shaving systems and disposable razors; Edge and Skintimate shave preparations; Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree, and o.b. feminine care products; Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic sun care products; Playtex infant feeding; Diaper Genie; Bulldog and Jack Black male skincare and grooming products; and Wet Ones moist wipes. The company has a broad global footprint and operates in more than 50 markets, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan, and Australia, with approximately 6,000 employees worldwide.

WHY: The company will complement Edgewell’s portfolio of insurgent brands such as Jack Black and Bulldog by uniquely serving specific consumer profiles, and therefore increasing Edgewell’s penetration in the growth categories within men’s grooming. The transaction is aligned with Edgewell’s core growth strategy of acquiring selective, fast-growing, and profitable brands that increase its presence in attractive segments.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Rod Little, Edgewell’s President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “We are excited to announce this agreement to acquire Cremo. The men’s grooming category remains a strategic focus for Edgewell and this acquisition will help us accelerate growth and strengthen our position in the fastest-growing categories in men’s grooming. We are acquiring a profitable, growing business with an established presence that is well diversified across grooming categories, yet has significant opportunities for expansion. We are extremely impressed with the CREMO brand and its positioning and expect it to continue to resonate over the long term with consumers. The organization’s consumer-centric brand-building capabilities will also be an important addition for Edgewell as we leverage the expertise of the CREMO team.”

Matthew Biggins, Cremo’s President and Chief Executive Officer, added, “This is a significant milestone for CREMO, a brand that we built to embody quality with professional-grade characteristics. Combining with Edgewell provides us the ability to bolster our strong store channel presence in the U.S. while positioning us to capitalize on attractive channel and geographic expansion opportunities. We are excited to join the Edgewell global brand portfolio and look forward to leveraging our compelling brand and social media presence with the benefit of Edgewell’s platform and demonstrated capabilities in the grooming category.”

DETAILS:

• Edgewell Personal Care Company entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Cremo for $235 million in an all-cash transaction.
• Matthew Biggins, Cremo CEO, spent 10 years as a marketer/brand manager at Nestlé USA before joining the brand in 2015 when it consisted of just shaving cream and was doing $2.5 million in sales.
• The brand has expanded to nearly 75 SKUs across face products, beard care, body products, shampoo and, most recently in March, hair dye.
• According to the business it did $75 million in 2018.
• Its most recent launch of men’s hairstyling products—including styling cream, matte cream, thickening paste, and shine pomade—and men’s body care, with five invigorating scents of body wash, plus its first collection of soap body bars, and men’s solid and spray colognes resulted in a growth rate for Cremo in 2018 of 56 percent, to more than $75 million in retail sales.
• The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the fiscal 2021 first quarter, is subject to customary closing conditions.
• Perella Weinberg Partners LP acted as financial advisor and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz acted as legal counsel to Edgewell on the transaction.
• Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins acted as legal counsel to Cremo.
• Earlier this year an antitrust challenge by the FTC suit to block the sale of Harry’s to Edgewell derailed the $1.37 billion deal.