Month / March 2019

by dietrichknauth

Middle Market Deal of the Year: L Catterton built parents’ trust in Zarbee’s Naturals

Why they won: 9.7x multiple and 43% IRR, revenue increased 15x over a seven-year hold

When L Catterton in 2011 acquired a majority of Zarbee’s Naturals, it bet it could build a new growth category that took advantage of long-term consumer trends around brand authenticity, health and wellness, and investing in children’s products.

When it sold the company to Johnson & Johnson Consumer in 2018, after expanding Zarbee’s from a line of honey-based children’s cough syrup into a market-leading provider of natural over-the-counter products, that bet paid off – to the tune of a 9.7x gross multiple and a 43 percent IRR.

L Catterton co-CEO Scott Dahnke said the deal reminded him of a quote from the 1980s TV show “The A-Team”: “I love it when a plan comes together.”

Check out the full article, as published by Buyouts: https://bit.ly/2Xj4ebK

by dietrichknauth

Trump administration outlines plan to speed SBIC licensing

The U.S. Small Business Administration, facing criticism for a slowdown in licensing times in the Small Business Investment Company program, is working on a series of fixes to improve the efficiency of the process.

The SBIC program, which provides government-backed leverage for GPs that invest in equity and debt of qualifying small businesses, has broad bipartisan support as a cost-effective way to help small businesses and spur economic growth.

But investment professionals have been frustrated by the recent administration of the program, complaining that long wait times for SBIC licenses have made the program less appealing to both GPs and their LP investors.

Read the full article, published by Buyouts: https://bit.ly/2FgJuag