NEW YORK and LONDON, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Inc. ("CD&R"), a leading global private equity firm, announced that it has completed its investment in Sally Beauty Holdings ("Sally Beauty"), the largest specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies in the U.S. based on store count and formerly a unit of Alberto-Culver Company ("Alberto"). The transaction is valued at approximately $3.0 billion, including the $575 million investment made by a CD&R-managed fund. CD&R, whose strategy is based on building and growing the businesses in which it invests, owns, on a fully-diluted basis, approximately 47.5% of Sally Beauty's shares outstanding through its fund. Sally Beauty is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SBH.
"Sally has significant potential as an independent company," said James G. Berges, an operating partner at CD&R who serves as Sally Beauty's Chairman. "The company is well positioned in an attractive industry and has both growth and margin improvement opportunities."
Sally Beauty, an international company, is the largest retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies in the U.S. based on store count. The company operates over 3,100 stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan, Ireland and Germany, and supplies 170 franchised stores in the United States and Mexico. With over $2 billion in sales annually, the company has approximately 1,200 professional distributor sales consultants who sell directly to salons and salon professionals across North America, a highly fragmented market with over 230,000 salons in the U.S. alone.
Sally Beauty operates in two segments, including a specialty retailer serving both salon professionals and retail consumers and a distribution business with a network of stores and a direct sales force that serves salons and salon professionals. The specialty retail unit offers an extensive selection of professional products for hair, skin and nails, from leading name brands such as Clairol, L'Oreal, Wella, Conair and Revlon. The distribution unit's product offerings include leading professional brands such as Matrix, Redken, Paul Mitchell, Wella, Sebastian, Graham Webb, Rusk and TIGI, targeted exclusively for professional and salon use and resale to their customers.
"We look forward to building long-term value for our shareholders by providing exceptional value to our customers," said Gary Winterhalter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sally Beauty. "Now, as an independent company, we plan to move forward on a number of initiatives to enhance our business, including more effective marketing, advertising and promotional strategies, as well as capturing profitable opportunities to expand and strengthen our store network."
The creation of a new independent Sally Beauty results from the successful completion of a plan, approved by Alberto shareholders on November 10, to separate Alberto's consumer products business and its retail and distribution business into two separate, publicly-traded companies.
About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Inc. is a leading private equity investment firm that has earned consistent, superior investment returns using an integrated operational and financial approach to building and growing portfolio businesses. Since its founding in 1978, CD&R has managed investments of over $8 billion in 38 U.S. and European businesses -- mostly subsidiaries or divisions of large multi-business corporations -- with revenues exceeding $40 billion, representing an aggregate transaction value of over $40 billion. CD&R recently led the euro 3.7 billion acquisition of Rexel, a leading global electrical supplies distributor. CD&R's portfolio also includes VWR International, a global leader in the distribution of scientific supplies, and Culligan, a leading global provider of water treatment products and services, among others. The firm has offices in London and New York. For more information about CD&R, visit http://www.cdr-inc.com/.
About Sally Beauty Holdings
Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. is an international specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies with revenues of more than $2 billion annually. Through the Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group businesses, the company sells and distributes through over 3,100 stores, including approximately 170 franchised units, throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan, Ireland, and Germany. Sally Beauty Supply stores offer more than 5,000 products for hair, skin and nails through professional lines such as Clairol, L'Oreal, Wella, Conair and Revlon, as well as an extensive selection of proprietary merchandise. Beauty Systems Group stores, along with approximately 1,200 consultants, sell up to 9,500 professionally branded products including Matrix, Redken, Paul Mitchell, Wella, Sebastian, Graham Webb, Rusk, and TIGI, targeted exclusively for professional and salon use and resale to their customers. Information about the Company is available on http://www.sallybeautyholdings.com/.
