Blacksmith Brands, led by industry veteran Peter Mann, launches with the acquisition of five OTC brands from Johnson & Johnson/McNeil Consumer, including Luden's throat lozenges and PediaCare children's cough/cold remedies.

Investment firm Charlesbank Capital Partners has a stake in Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Blacksmith. The Oct. 29 deal also included the NasalCrom allergy relief spray, Efferdent denture cleanser and Effergrip denture adhesive brands, the firm says.

Terms were not disclosed. Atlanta-based Ares Capital Corp. said Nov. 2 it arranged $65 million in secured debt financing for Blacksmith to make the deal, investing $32.5 million itself.

Mann, who founded Prestige Brands and was chairman before leaving the firm in October, is Blacksmith's CEO and chairman (¹ 'The Tan Sheet' Nov. 2, 2009, In Brief).

The PediaCare line includes Children's Decongestant, Long-Acting Cough, Multi-Symptom Cold Allergy, and Allergy & Cold, as well as the Gentle Vapors waterless vaporizer. McNeil pulled some PediaCare infant products from the market in 2007 (² Also see "Infant Cold Products Pulled; Waxman Looks For More OTC Risks" - Pink Sheet, 15 October, 2007.).

Charlesbank notes Efferdent and Luden's both are leaders in niche categories, and says each of the brands brings "meaningful" growth opportunities.

PediaCare liquid product sales in U.S. supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandise outlets, excluding Walmart, were $4.63 million - 0.75 percent of the category - in the 52 weeks ended Oct. 4, according to Information Resources Inc. data. Private-label products led the category at $142.5 million.

Efferdent's $15.45 million and Efferdent Plus' $8.23 million in sales combined for more than 31 percent of the category led by GlaxoSmithKline's Polident at $18.2 million, the IRI data show. Luden's had $20.2 million in sales for a 4.9 percent share of the cough drop segment, far behind leader Cadbury Adams' Halls at $171.5 million in the $401.7 million category, IRI says.

Blacksmith's acquisitions come with an increase expected in the number of brands and businesses available for sale (see stories ³ Also see "Experts Predict Buyer's Market For Consumer Brands In 2010" - Pink Sheet, 9 November, 2009. and ⁴ Also see "Prestige CEO Tightens Focus On OTCs, Considers Divesting Personal Care" - Pink Sheet, 9 November, 2009. ).

- Malcolm Spicer ( ⁵ m.spicer@elsevier.com )

Startup Blacksmith Debuts With Luden's, PediaCare Acquisition From McNeil

More from Archive

More from Pink Sheet