Drybar Announces New Investment - Appointment of Paul Pressler and Janet Gurwitch to Board

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Jan 20, 2012, 08:01 ET

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Jan. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Drybar, the market leader in the emerging "blow dry only" segment of the beauty industry, announced today the closing of a $16 million investment by Castanea Partners, the Boston-based private equity firm, for a minority stake in the company.

"After a long and comprehensive search it became clear that Castanea was the ideal partner for us," said Michael Landau, Drybar's Chief Executive Officer. "Castanea provides unique operational, consumer-focused expertise and experience to help us achieve the next level of growth."

"This is an exciting investment opportunity for us," said Steve Berg, Partner at Castanea. "The team at Drybar has done an incredible job of capitalizing on a void in the marketplace and filling it with a service that truly delights their customers."

As part of the transaction, Janet Gurwitch and Paul Pressler will be joining Drybar's board. Ms. Gurwitch is the founder and former CEO of Laura Mercier Cosmetics, a leading global beauty brand. Prior to that she was the Executive Vice President of Neiman Marcus, and recently joined Castanea as an Operating Partner. "Drybar has created an incredibly cool, innovative experience for the consumer," said Gurwitch. "I am excited to be joining this impressive team to further develop the Drybar brand."

Paul Pressler, a veteran consumer products executive, served as president and CEO of Gap Inc from 2002-2007 and prior to that spent 15 years with The Walt Disney Company where he was Chairman of the company's global theme park and resorts division. Mr. Pressler also served as President of Disneyland and President of Disney Stores.

"This is one of the most exciting new retail ideas I've seen in years", said Pressler. "I look forward to joining the board and helping the Drybar team rapidly grow the business."

Ms. Gurwitch and Mr. Pressler each co-invested in Drybar personally, alongside Castanea.

The company plans to use proceeds from the investment to continue their rapid national expansion efforts and further invest in talent and infrastructure. Karen Kelley, former senior executive at Pinkberry and Jamba Juice recently joined the company as President and Chief Operating Officer. Drybar will open its second New York location on January 26th at the Le Parker Meridien hotel on 56th Street.

Drybar was represented by Paul Hastings, as counsel to the company, and Partnership Capital Growth, a full-service boutique investment bank that focuses exclusively on the healthy, active and sustainable living marketplace.

About Drybar

Drybar, named one of the top "100 Brilliant Ideas of 2010" by Entrepreneur Magazine, is based on the simple concept of focusing on one thing and being the best at it. The idea was a natural one for founder Alli Webb, a long-time professional stylist, and came from a lifetime of frustration overpaying for blowouts at traditional salons. Drybar operates locations throughout Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Scottsdale, San Diego and Atlanta and has become a regular stop for many celebrities, including Cindy Crawford, Emma Roberts, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Zooey Deschanel, Rose McGowan, Jessica Lowndes, Eliza Dushku, Whitney Port, Maria Shriver, Nicky Hilton and many more. Appointments can be booked online at www.thedrybar.com or by calling 212-561-5392.

For more information, please visit www.thedrybar.com.

About Castanea

Castanea Partners is a private equity fund founded by operating executives and private equity veterans. We invest between $15M to $75M of equity in companies within specifically targeted industry sectors where we have proven investment and operating expertise including branded consumer products, specialty retail, marketing services, information services, and education.

Our investment philosophy is based on the belief that our industry specializations and unique operating backgrounds enhance our ability to partner with successful management teams and drive top-level returns for our investors. Leveraging over 100 years of combined experience, we invest in traditional MBOs, sales of private companies, industry consolidations, growth equity and acquisition equity capital raises, corporate carve-outs and operationally challenged opportunities.

For more information, visit Castanea Partners.

SOURCE Drybar