Cornell Capital-Led Investor Group to Partner with KDC

Knowlton Development Corporation (“KDC”), a leading value-added partner to beauty, health and personal care brands, and Cornell Capital LLC, a private investment firm based in New York and Hong Kong (“Cornell Capital”), are pleased to announce that a group of investors led by Cornell Capital, including HarbourVest Partners, LLC (“HarbourVest”), has  partnered with KDC and its existing management to position the company for its next leg of growth. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”) and Investissement Québec (“IQ”), long-time shareholders of KDC, will rollover a significant stake as part of this transaction to continue supporting KDC in this new phase of expansion.

Headquartered in Longueuil, Québec, KDC has nearly 4,800 employees across 10 state-of-the-art facilities in North America. KDC announced the creation of an Innovation Lab in June 2018 to enhance its research and development capabilities and product creation for its broad base of nearly 200 customers across 300 distinct brands.

Established in 2002, KDC is an innovative, one-stop solution for its customers, providing product innovation, research support, custom formulation, batch processing, assembly, packaging and quality assurance services for prestige beauty and health, specialty personal care and household products. KDC has experienced rapid growth through the successful completion of seven notable acquisitions over the past four years, most recently with Aromair Fine Fragrance and Northern Labs, further expanding its offerings in the fine fragrance, air and home care product markets. 

Cornell Capital is led by Henry Cornell, the former Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs' Merchant Banking Division, who has a 35-year history of partnering with leading businesses. The firm has deep expertise in the consumer and industrial sectors, and the investment in KDC is consistent with its strategy of identifying attractive platform companies and partnering with strong management teams to grow businesses organically and through acquisitions. Additionally, the firm will leverage its unique international investment expertise, including its extensive relationships in Asia, to enhance KDC’s business beyond North America. 
    
Cornell Capital recognizes the importance of the company’s operations and its global headquarters in Quebec to its success over the years and has confirmed they would continue to serve as a strong and growing base for its international expansion.

The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions and is expected to close over the next quarter. Guggenheim Securities LLC acted as financial advisor and Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP acted as legal advisor to KDC. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP acted as legal advisors to Cornell Capital.