Private equity firm MidOcean Partners has acquired a majority equity position in Agilex Flavors & Fragrances, a creator and manufacturer of fragrances for use in consumer products.
Agilex was previously owned by Nautic Partners, a middle market private firm.
Headquartered in Piscataway, New Jersey, Agilex was created by combining several unique fragrance houses with diverse strengths and capabilities. Agilex is a provider of fragrance compounds and delivery systems sold primarily to manufacturers of air care, personal care, industrial and institutional and household products. The company’s facilities include production facilities in Georgia, New Jersey, and China along with a Creative Center for Excellence in Piscataway, New Jersey and fragrance laboratory located in Hong Kong.
The current management team is investing alongside MidOcean. The new board of directors will include Daniel Stebbins, the former president of the Flavor Division worldwide for Dragoco and Haarmann & Reimer Corp., where he oversaw its integration into Symrise, a global leader in the industry. Stebbins served on the board of governors for the Fragrance Foundation from 1990 to 2002, and has worked with MidOcean to evaluate opportunities in this sector over the past several years.
Also joining the board is Thomas Virtue, former president of Givaudan Roure, the world’s largest flavours and fragrance provider. Brian Connolly, the former executive vice president and president of North America for Avon Products, will also serve on the board. Connolly formerly served as chairman of the Direct Selling Association.
"Over the course of the past several years, MidOcean has been evaluating opportunities in the value-added fragrance and flavors space, and we found Agilex’s leading position in a fragmented middle market, its role in providing critical fragrance inputs for customers, and its excellent management team very compelling," says Rob Sharp, a MidOcean managing director. "We are very impressed with the entire Agilex management team, all of whom are investing alongside MidOcean as part of this transaction. We look forward to partnering with this team to grow the business organically and through significant acquisitions."
"I am extremely excited about our new relationship with MidOcean Partners and the financial expertise and resources they provide. To serve on the board of directors with these industry icons is both an honour and a privilege. Their deep knowledge at the highest levels of the industry will provide the additional vision and support that we were seeking as we continue to grow our business," says Agilex’s chief executive Stu Zlotnik. "We will continue to build on our record of creating winning fragrances, new technological innovations and marketing capabilities focused directly on our clients’ specific needs."
