CR Brands, Inc. Acquired By Resilience Capital Partners

CLEVELAND, Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 its equity partner, Juggernaut Capital Partners, has agreed to sell the Company to 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."

John Shulman, Founder and Managing Partner of Juggernaut Capital Partners, said, "We are thrilled to have partnered with CR Brands in building a strong household products platform over the past several years. Our investment in CR Brands continues our strong history of successful investments into the consumer sector."

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.

About Juggernaut Capital Partners
Headquartered in Washington, DC, Juggernaut Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm focusing on investments in middle market companies primarily in the consumer products and business services industries where the principals have extensive knowledge and experience. The Firm has a deeply focused, hands-on management approach to its portfolio companies with a particular emphasis on developing new customers, opening new markets, improving operational efficiencies and augmenting management teams. Juggernaut invests in a variety of transaction types including consolidations, public to private transactions and corporate divestitures. For more information please visit www.juggernautcap.com.

Contact:
Bassem Mansour
Resilience Capital Partners
(216) 292‐4748

SOURCE Resilience Capital Partners

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