Bright International, a portfolio company of Aterian Investment Partners, has acquired Bocchi Laboratories from its family ownership. Aterian acquired Bright International in August 2019.
Bocchi Laboratories is a high volume contract manufacturer of liquid personal care products including shampoos, conditioners, lotions, creams, gels, and fragrances.
Headquartered near Los Angeles in Santa Clarita, California, the company has 225,000 sq. ft. of facilities including an 86,000 sq. ft. production plant and a 96,000 sq. ft. warehouse facility. In New Albany, Ohio, located northeast of Columbus, the company has nearly 200,000 sq. ft. of research and development, production and warehouse facilities.
Bocchi was founded in 1989 by Bob Bocchi and was acquired by Bain Private Equity in 1996. Bain sold the business in 2003 to ClearLight Partners and in 2008 the company was reacquired by Mr. Bocchi. Today the business is led by CEO Joe Pender.
“The partnership between Bocchi and Bright is the ideal outcome for our employees and customers as the combination provides significant resources and capabilities as we continue our growth strategy and our commitment to our customer base through execution and innovation,” said Mr. Pender.
Bright manufactures hair bleach products, shaving depilatory powders, developers and hair colors that are used by consumer product brands sold into the professional salon and retail markets. The company’s services include research and development, formulation, blending, packaging, filling, and kitting. Bright was founded in 1987 by Anthony Bibars and has a manufacturing facility and headquarters near Phoenix in Coolidge, Arizona.
According to Aterian, the combination of Bright with Bocchi creates one of the most diversified full-service beauty and personal care platforms in North America.
“The Bocchi and Bright platform is highly strategic,” said Christopher Thomas, a co-founder and partner at Aterian. “Although each company is a leading North American manufacturer in its respective categories, the combination provides each business and their customer base access to new capabilities, technology, production equipment, innovation and excellence in execution to further align the customers and organization.”
Aterian invests up to $50 million in small-to-middle market businesses with $25 million to $500 million in revenues that are underperforming, turnarounds or otherwise unique situations. Aterian held a final closing of Aterian Investment Partners III LP with $350 million of committed capital in July 2018. Aterian’s earlier fund closed in December 2013 with $257 million of capital commitments.
“We are very excited for the direction of the organization,” added Josh Ciampa, a principal at Aterian. “This is an example of how we continue to grow and invest behind two family-owned and operated organizations, ultimately creating a best-in-class manufacturing and innovation platform for the customer experience.”
Lincoln International was the financial advisor to Bocchi Laboratories.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | February 11, 2021
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