Update (June 6, 2024): Boston-based equity firm Yellow Wood Partners has completed its acquisition of Elida Beauty from Unilever, with Alfie Vivian named CEO of the newly independent company. The acquisition reportedly raises Yellow Wood's portfolio sales, comprising about 50 brands, to more than $3 billion.
The news was first announced in in December 2023 (see below).
The equity firm previously acquired brands such as Chapstick and Suave.
Other Yellow Wood brands include Q-tips, Caress, Ponds and St. Ives (for North America and Europe only), Impulse, Noxzema, Monsavon, and Timotei,.
Vivian previously served as senior vice president and group general manager of Tyson Foods. Prior to that, he worked at Unilever for almost 30 years.
Tad Yanagi, partner at Yellow Wood Partners, said, “We are excited to complete this carve out with Unilever and formally welcome Alfie Vivian and the Elida Beauty team into the Yellow Wood family. Elida Beauty’s brands are recognized around the world and align perfectly with our existing portfolio. Alfie’s and our collective brand building experience across North American and international markets will help unlock Elida’s global growth potential as a newly independent company.”
Dana Schmaltz, Yellow Wood partner, added, “We have a successful formula and broad expertise to identify great consumer brands that can benefit from independent, focused ownership. The true nature of success in completing these corporate carveouts is based in the Yellow Wood Consumer Operating DNA strategy. This playbook, executed by our team, allows us to work seamlessly with the large global CPG companies to create the stand alone operating infrastructures necessary to begin these brands’ evolution as independent companies. Our expertise allows us to do this in very short time frames which benefits the corporate seller, our retail partners and, most importantly, the brands and their consumers as these transitions can create confusion and brands can suffer. Elida Beauty is another example of our disciplined approach where we believe these brands can benefit from additional investment and highly focused attention as an independent company. This marks our second carve out from Unilever following our successful experience working with them on our acquisition of the Suave brand last year, and, Elida is our fifth corporate carve out in the last four years from large multi-national CPG companies including Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Reckitt Benckiser, Haleon, and Unilever.”
Vivian concluded, “Yellow Wood’s creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and commitment to excellence combined with the Elida Beauty team’s experience will continue our evolution into a powerful multi-brand beauty company. Yellow Wood’s partnership allows us to build on the legacy of these brands and accelerate development of our product portfolio across global markets.”
Previously (December 2023): Yellow Wood Partners has announced it is acquiring Elida Beauty from Unilever. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-2024 upon completion of customary closing and regulatory approvals.
Yellow Wood's portfolio of consumer brands includes The Suave Brands Company, Dr. Scholl's and Scholl International and Beacon Wellness Brands.
Tad Yanagi, partner at Yellow Wood Partners, said, "We are excited to work with Unilever's Elida Beauty team on the carve out and lead these brands into their next phase of growth and expansion. Consumers around the world love these brands as they are an important part of their daily lives. We believe the Elida Beauty brands will flourish in the Yellow Wood operating model where our teams will work to build and enhance growth and accessibility of this new platform. Our prior relationship with the Unilever team helped us understand the potential of Elida Beauty."
Dana Schmaltz, Yellow Wood Partner, added, "We look forward to completing another successful transaction with Unilever to acquire these great consumer brands. Our partnership with Unilever continues to grow and we are excited to bring such fantastic brands as Q-tips, Caress, and VO5 among others into the Yellow Wood portfolio. Our team has become adept at leading complex corporate carve-outs and creating the critical functions required of an independent company to implement strategies to achieve long-term growth. This will be our fourth brand carve out from a major CPG company over the last four years, and we look forward to continuing our differentiated strategy to acquire other brands in the future."
