Wind Point Partners-Backed VPI Holding Company Adds Beauty Industry Innovation Expertise and a West Coast Operation
Intrepid today announced that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Aware Products, LLC (Aware), a leading value-added formulator and contract manufacturer that serves as a key innovation partner to leading and emerging brands in the beauty industry, on its acquisition by VPI Holding Company, LLC (VPI), the parent company of Vee Pak, LLC (Vee Pak), and a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners. Vee Pak is a fully-integrated co-manufacturer of personal care products for leading industry brands. Chuck Greenberg, the current CEO of Aware, and the company’s entire leadership team will remain in place.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome of this strategic partnership. Intrepid’s expertise and knowledge of the beauty care industry and contract manufacturing sector played a critical role in finding and negotiating us the right deal with the best partner,” Chuck Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Aware commented. “With the support of Wind Point and VPI, we plan to devote even greater resources to our best-in-class innovation, product development, and R&D core competencies, and to continue to create products that will excite and amaze customers.”
“We quickly recognized the power of the innovation and product development capabilities of the Aware team and platform and the critical role Aware plays with its growing client brands,” said Steve Davis, Managing Director and Head of the Beauty & Personal Care practice at Intrepid. “We knew these capabilities, partnership approach and the Aware team would resonate with the acquirer universe. We are delighted to have played a role in the growth path of this amazing company and are excited to see what Aware and VPI can achieve together.”
Los Angeles-based Aware is a leading value-added manufacturer of innovative haircare, bath and body, and skin care products for fast-growing and emerging brands in the beauty industry. The company provides best-in-class product ideation, research and development, and manufacturing, with a client-centric approach.
The acquisition of Aware by VPI creates the opportunity to leverage both Aware’s and Vee Pak’s complementary capabilities. Aware has a long history of developing unique and transformational formulations for hair and skin care products and has a team of innovation specialists dedicated to bringing exciting new product ideas to customers. Vee Pak offers best-in-class capabilities in product transfer and scale-up for production which, together with Aware, positions both companies to service clients with new and growing product lines. Aware also introduces a West Coast operation with capabilities to efficiently manufacture in smaller run sizes.
Deal Team Contacts
Steve Davis, Managing Director and Head of Beauty & Personal Care
About Intrepid Investment Bankers
Intrepid provides M&A, capital raising and strategic advisory services to entrepreneurs and middle-market companies in various industry sectors. Our heritage, rooted in our founders’ successful 35-year history, breeds a culture that embraces teamwork, tenacity, and creativity to win big for our clients. We believe that every company has an entrepreneurial passion that drives it and a story that defines it. Our team delivers results through skillful positioning and relentless execution. Based in Los Angeles, Intrepid augments its international capabilities through its active participation in Oaklins, an exclusive global alliance of M&A advisory firms.
About Intrepid’s Beauty & Personal Care Practice
Intrepid provides dedicated merger and acquisition advisory and capital raising services to the Beauty & Personal Care sectors. As a result of their focus, our industry bankers have a deep understanding of value drivers in the sector. Our Beauty & Personal Care practice is uniquely dedicated to clients in the middle market, including entrepreneur-owned companies, financial sponsors, and micro- to mid-cap public companies.
Read our most recent industry report “Beauty Care M&A on Pace for Another Record Year—Stay Tuned”.