News

Webster Equity Partners has acquired Vivona Brands from Inflexion Private Equity. No financial terms were disclosed. London-based Vivona is a provider of beauty, wellness and lifestyle products. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

Waltham, MA (May 13, 2018) — Webster Equity Partners (“Webster”), a Waltham-based private equity firm, is pleased to announce it has acquired a majority stake in Vivona Brands (“Vivona” or the “Company”) from Inflexion Private Equity (“Inflexion”).

Vivona Brands (www.vivonabrands.com), headquartered in London, England, is one of the leading multi-brand platforms of beauty, wellness and lifestyle products.

Vivona’s products are sold internationally through partnerships with major retailers including Ulta Beauty, CVS, Walgreens and Target in the US and Sephora, Superdrug and Boots in EMEA.

Webster is excited about the opportunity to partner with Tim Wright, CEO of Vivona, in this transaction and support management in the next stage of the Company’s growth. Chris Casgar, Partner at Webster, said “Tim and the management team have done a terrific job establishing Vivona as a brand creator and developer of awarding products for global consumers and retailers. We see enormous potential to further scale the brands under our ownership.”

“The team and I are very pleased to be partnering with the Webster team,” said Tim Wright, CEO. “We are experiencing strong momentum and believe that Webster’s deep understanding of the beauty and personal care market will help accelerate our growth.”

Alantra served as financial advisor to Vivona in the transaction and DWF provided legal counsel. Goodwin Procter served as legal counsel to Webster.

About Vivona Brands
Vivona Brands aims to deliver on-trend beauty, wellbeing and lifestyle brands to global fast fashion and beauty savvy consumers. Beauty products are sold under the Korean beauty umbrella brand OhK! and sub-brands of SUGU, SOS and Jiinju, as well as under its Japanese beauty brand Koburi. Wellness products are branded under the umbrella brand Luna & Rae with sub-brands including We Live Like This and Sunday Rain. Lifestyle legacy brands include Drinking Buddies and the NPW brands. Vivona’s brands aspire to be insightful and innovative, and they are developed with a real passion for creating happiness and enjoyment.

Vivona’s beauty and wellness brands focus on unique products and ingredients that are fun and have a spirited attitude. They seek to define their products with a multi-step routine, special ingredients and whimsical packaging.

Designs take inspiration from the Company’s aim to support more emotionally balanced lifestyles, helping us unplug from our digital lives. www.vivonabrands.com

About Webster Equity Partners
Founded in 2003, Webster Equity Partners is a private equity firm that invests in the branded consumer and healthcare services industries and provides equity financing, expertise, and a broad contact network for management buyouts and growth capital. Webster is currently investing out of its fourth fund with $875 million of committed capital. For additional information on Webster Equity Partners, please visit www.websterequitypartners.com.

About Inflexion Private Equity
Inflexion is a mid-market private equity firm, investing in high growth, entrepreneurial businesses with ambitious management teams and working in partnership with them to accelerate growth. Inflexion’s flexible approach allows it to back both majority and minority investments, typically investing £10m to £250m of equity in each deal.

With bespoke teams and dedicated capital, Inflexion’s funds invest across all sectors from offices in London and Manchester. Inflexion helps businesses achieve the next stage of their development through international expansion, operational improvements, digital expertise, access to Inflexion’s networks and funding for acquisitions. It benefits from experts in Bangalore, Boston, São Paulo and Shanghai dedicated to portfolio development, enabling investee companies to benefit from privileged access to these fast-growth markets.

In 2018, Inflexion retained the leading position in Preqin’s annual global league for consistent top performing buyout firms. Inflexion has also won a number of industry accolades for its success in growing the businesses it backs.

Funds advised by Inflexion Private Equity Partners LLP have funds under management of c.£5.4bn.

Read more at www.inflexion.com.