White Oak Provides $51.5 Million Commitment to HRB Brands to Finance Acquisition of Personal Care Brands From Helen of Troy

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--White Oak Global Advisors (“White Oak”) is pleased to announce that it has provided a $51.5 million commitment to provide senior secured term debt financing to HRB Brands LLC (“HRB”) to effectuate their acquisition of a portfolio of personal care brands from Helen of Troy Limited (Nasdaq: HELE). The acquired portfolio includes the North American operations of 12 iconic and well-known brands such as Brut, Pert, Sure, and Ammens.

HRB, a portfolio company of Tengram Capital Partners (“Tengram”), is one of the largest independent branded personal care companies in North America. It holds leading market positions in the hair care and skin cleansing categories selling primarily to the Mass and Dollar channels. HRB’s existing portfolio includes iconic brands such as Zest, VO5, Coast, and LA Looks.

Andre Hakkak, CEO of White Oak commented, “White Oak saw this as an opportunity to partner with Tengram, one of the leading private equity groups focused exclusively on the consumer branded space, as well as with an experienced management team at HRB, led by its CEO Jim Daniels. HRB management has a demonstrated history of prior success with their well-known legacy brands and adding the strong brands acquired from Helen of Troy to the portfolio only enhances the overall value of the Company.”

Allan Marzen, Managing Director at White Oak added, “We are excited about the direction that Tengram and HRB management are taking the business and want to be a part of that success as their financial partner for many years to come.”

“We truly appreciated the professionalism and dedication that White Oak demonstrated throughout the process of our acquiring these exciting brands,” said Brian Cooper of Tengram. “They rode with us through the many twists and turns of the negotiations and at the end delivered on exactly what they said they would. We look forward to working with them as we grow HRB!”

About White Oak Global Advisors

White Oak Global Advisors, LLC (“WOGA”) is a leading alternative debt manager specializing in originating and providing financing solutions to facilitate the growth, refinancing and recapitalization of small and medium enterprises. Together with its financing affiliates, WOGA provides over twenty lending products to the market, including term, asset-based, and equipment loans, to all sectors of the economy. Since its inception in 2007, WOGA and its affiliates have deployed over $10 billion across its product lines, utilizing a disciplined investment process that focuses on delivering risk-adjusted investment returns to investors while establishing long term partnerships with our borrowers. More information can be found at www.whiteoaksf.com.