Yellow Wood to acquire ChapStick for $430 Million

Boston-based private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners announced on Thursday that its portfolio company, Suave Brands Company, is set to acquire the ChapStick brand from Haleon for $430 Million. 

ChapStick, credited with inventing the lip care category in the 1880s, has maintained its status as a household name for over a century. Boasting a diverse portfolio of lip care products with innovative ingredients, skincare benefits, and flavors, ChapStick is the top brand by volume in lip care, with over 80% brand awareness.

Suave Brands Company chief executive officer Daniel Alter, said, “We are excited to add ChapStick, another leading brand with deep equity and history, into our platform. At Suave Brands Company, our management team is focused on building a platform of category leading brands that consumers love while working with our retail customers and manufacturing partners to grow the brands. We look forward to continuing to build Suave Brands Company by identifying additional personal care brands to add to the portfolio.”

Suave Brands Company was established by the Yellow Wood team in May 2023, initially to acquire the Suave brand from Unilever. Suave spans products across hair, body, skin, and antiperspirant deodorant segments. 

“Similar to Suave, ChapStick will benefit from Suave Brands Company’s leadership, setting the brand up for continued innovation and growth driven by increased consumer marketing investments, as well as a more focused sales approach. We look forward to completing this transaction in the first half of 2024,” said Dana Schmaltz, partner at Yellow Wood Partners.

Yellow Wood Partners’ diverse portfolio includes global footcare brands Dr. Scholl‘s and Scholl International, beauty brands Real Techniques and EcoTools, skincare brand Byoma, and self-tanning brands Isle of Paradise, Tanologist, and TanLuxe. The acquisition of the Elida Beauty portfolio from Unilever is also pending and includes brands like Q-Tips, Caress, and TiGi, among others. 

“ChapStick will be Yellow Wood’s fifth corporate carveout transaction in the past four years. The firm prides itself on having become a trusted partner to CPG companies to carve brands out and set them up for their next stage of growth. We appreciate Haleon’s collaboration on all levels and look forward to working with them to complete the carveout expeditiously,” added Tad Yanagi, partner at Yellow Wood Partners.