KDC announces the acquisition of Thibiant International, Inc., a major addition to its research and development portfolio and to its manufacturing base on the West Coast of the U.S.
Knowlton Development Corporation ("KDC"), a leading contract manufacturer of health and beauty-care products with its head office in Longueuil, Quebec, announces the acquisition of Thibiant International, Inc. ("Thibiant"). Thibiant, located in California, formulates and manufactures personal and skin care products, and offers product development services, innovation R&D, quality and compliance assurance services, and manufacturing solutions for the production of beauty and skin care product brands. Thibiant has 285 full-time employees in modern facilities extending over 330,000 square feet.
This transaction comes in the wake of a series of acquisitions carried out in 2014 and 2015, and which were made possible by its parent company, NOVACAP, through its Novacap Industries IV Fund, with the support of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement-Québec, Export Development Canada (EDC), Fondaction CSN and other institutional partners. This transaction is one step forward in KDC’s evolution as world-class leader in the supply of high quality, innovative products and delivery solutions to prominent brands. While KDC is active in many personal care categories such as deodorants, hair care, bath and body, and skin care products, Thibiant represents a major acquisition in terms of crystallizing its presence on the West Coast of the U.S., enabling KDC to offer a wider range of services to clients, most of which conduct major business transactions in that area.
"We are very confident that this acquisition will add considerable growth potential and enable us to establish a strong presence on the West Coast of the U.S.," states KDC President and CEO Nicholas Whitley. "We found particularly attractive Thibiant's innovation-driven business model, its high-tech facilities and equipment, its exceptional client base and, most of all, its team of talented and highly qualified professionals. KDC and Thibiant also share very similar corporate cultures and operating principles, which establishes a solid base for cooperation. We are going to phase some of Thibiant's best practices into our operation and export some of ours, which will make for excellent synergies benefiting everyone."
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"With this acquisition, NOVACAP and its institutional partners are living up to their promise of doubling the size of the company and hitting the billion-dollar mark in annual sales over the next three to five years," adds KDC Chairman and NOVACAP Senior Partner Michel Côté. "In less than 25 months since KDC's capital was restructured, we have already invested over $200 million in growing the business and making acquisitions like ChemAid, Kolmar, Acupac, Cosmetic Technologies and now Thibiant, each of which brings no small measure of added value to KDC's positioning as an industry leader."
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"KDC is a long time, recognized leader in subcontracting, and we think that our two companies will form an extraordinary combination that will continue to build added value for clients, employees and all of our stakeholders," states Thibiant International Inc. President and CEO Patrick Thibiant. "We are looking at a brilliant future for both companies. KDC has a long history of constant investment in its businesses, plants and employees, and we can count on that pattern continuing. KDC also boasts a great record for sales growth, operational excellence and high-quality customer service. It shares our vision of being the best custom manufacturer of health, personal care, beauty and medical products in North America."
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ABOUT KDC
KDC is a leader and total solution provider in the contract manufacturing fields of regulated and non-regulated personal care products with sales now in excess of US$700 million, eight operating facilities run by a most talented and experienced team of professionals. KDC has its head office in Longueuil, Québec. In addition to the Thibiant facilities, KDC has plants in Knowlton (Quebec), Lynchburg (Virginia), Columbus (Ohio), Kolmar Port Jervis (New York), Acupac Mahwah (New Jersey), as well as the KDC ChemAid facilities, located in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. Altogether, the company employs 2,800 people, including more than 750 in Knowlton. For more information, please visit: www. kdc-companies.com.
ABOUT THIBIANT
Thibiant International, Inc., located in Chatsworth, California, is a based custom formulator and manufacturer of personal care and skin care products, offering Product Development, R&D Innovation, Quality services, Regulatory services and Manufacturing solutions for skin care brands. Thibiant international has 285 full-time employees in state-of-the-art facilities totalling over 330,000 square feet.
ABOUT NOVACAP
Founded in 1981, Novacap is a leading private equity firm in Canada with over $1.6 billion of assets under management. The Firm’s unique partnership approach with entrepreneurs, based on deep operational expertise and active management of its investments, has helped accelerate growth and maximize value of companies across North America. With an experienced management team and substantial financial resources, Novacap is well positioned to continue building world-class companies. For more information, visit www.novacap.ca.
ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2016, it held $254.9 billion in net assets. As one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
ABOUT INVESTISSEMENT QUÉBEC
Investissement Québec’s mission is to foster the growth of investment in Québec, thereby contributing to the economic development and creation of jobs in all regions of the province. The Corporation offers businesses a full range of financial solutions, including loans, loan guarantees and equity investments, in order to support them at all stages of their development. It is also responsible for administering tax measures and prospecting for foreign investment.
ABOUT THE FONDS DE SOLIDARITÉ FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a development capital fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments. At May 31, 2016, the organization had $11.7 billion in net assets, and through its current portfolio of investments has helped create and protect 187,414 jobs. The Fonds is a partner in more than 2,600 companies and has 618,551 shareholder-savers. For more information, visit www.fondsftq.com.
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