Vestar Capital Partners said Friday it is purchasing a majority ownership of Salt Lake-based Huish Detergents, the largest manufacturer of private label laundry detergent and fabric softeners in North America.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Huish Detergents employs 2,300 people in Utah, Tennessee, Kentucky and Texas. The company has annual sales of roughly $1 billion.
Dan Huish, founder and chief executive officer, said employees of the company will be unaffected by the transaction.
Huish will continue with the company as CEO and will maintain a minority interest in the company. It will continue to be headquartered in Salt Lake City.
"Vestar came to us. The timing was good timing. The economy is in great shape right now, and we just felt that we would liquidate at this point," Huish said. "Everything will be the same with me. I am going to stay here and run it."
Vestar Capital, a New York private equity firm, targets companies with valuations of $100 million to $5 billion.
Vestar president Jim Kelley said Huish Detergents is "poised for continued growth."
"Dan and his team have built a terrific company with a proven track record and promising future," Kelley said in a prepared statement. "We are delighted to be their partners going forward."
Buyout firms typically purchase companies having strong profit margins, and then grow the companies before selling them at a future date. Huish anticipates that Vestar will hold the company for five to eight years.
Huish Detergents makes detergent products under private labels for stores like Costco, Sam's Club, Kroger, Smith's and Albertson's. It produces the Sun Detergent and Sun Fabric Softener brands.
Huish Detergents recently ventured into the personal care business with the purchase of White Rain, a hair shampoo company previously owned by Diamond Products Co.
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