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Boston Area Company Benefits from Mosquito Influx Kinderhook Industries Invests in Thermacell Mosquito Repellent Brand

 

Boston Area Company Benefits from Mosquito Influx

Kinderhook Industries Invests in Thermacell Mosquito Repellent Brand 

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Bedford, Mass. (July 14, 2014) – Kinderhook Industries, a private equity firm based in New York has purchased The Schawbel Corporation, maker of the highly effective zone mosquito defense brand, Thermacell.  This transaction is unrelated to Schawbel Technologies with businesses in personal heating and cooling, and consulting services.  Concurrent with the acquisition, the Company has been renamed Thermacell Repellents, Inc.  While terms of the transaction were not disclosed, William Schawbel, founder and owner of The Schawbel Corporation, will continue to be a significant shareholder and board member of Thermacell Repellents.

“Thermacell has developed tremendous brand equity in the marketplace, achieved consistent year over year growth and has demonstrated an ability to selectively expand their business into new markets," said Kinderhook Managing Director Tom Tuttle.  “We are excited to partner with the Thermacell management team in the acquisition of Thermacell and to provide the Company with the capital it needs to upgrade infrastructure and continue to develop innovative market leading products in the insect repellent industry.”  Long term climate change trends support the development of new strategies to repel mosquitoes, given the introduction of new mosquito borne diseases in the U.S. such as the Chikungunya Virus, Dengue Fever, West Nile Virus, and the return of Malaria.

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“Thermacell has demonstrated a strong ability to identify new markets for company expansion resulting in unprecedented growth in the repellent industry,” said Steve Hill, CEO of Thermacell Repellents. “Our relationship with Kinderhook will allow for the continued success of Thermacell as their access to capital and experience in building middle market businesses in partnership with management will prove invaluable as the Company enters its next stage of growth."  Company sales are at an all-time high driven by unusually high mosquito populations worldwide.  In fact, June sales of Thermacell were up almost 40 percent compared to 2013.

The company will continue to be headquartered in Bedford and will be opening an office in the Chicago area.  With an eye on a larger slice of the $2B worldwide repellent industry, Thermacell is sold in 30 countries around the world and will continue to increase its geographic footprint under the guidance of Kinderhook.  

About Thermacell

Thermacell products create a 15’ x 15’ zone of protection in minutes from biting insects and are silent, have no open flame, and are virtually odorless. Thermacell can be found at major outdoor stores including Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods as well as mass retailers such as The Home Depot and Walmart. For more information on Thermacell and its complete line of repellent products including appliances and lanterns, consumer reviews, or store locations, visit www.Thermacell.com or call 1-866-753-3837.

 

About Schawbel Corporation

The Schawbel Corporation, is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts and was founded in 1981 by William Schawbel.  The company focuses on consumer products that have global appeal and can leverage its worldwide independent sales representatives, distributors, offshore manufacturing, and engineering resources.  

 

About Kinderhook Industries

Founded in 2003, Kinderhook is a private equity firm with over $1.25 billion of committed capital and an investment philosophy based on combining senior management and operating experience in a variety of industries with the financial and investment know-how of private equity professionals.   Kinderhook primarily makes control investments in companies with transaction values of $25-$150 million in which the firm believes it can achieve significant financial, operational and growth improvements. The firm targets orphaned non-core subsidiaries of corporate parents, existing small capitalization public companies lacking institutional support and management-led recapitalizations of entrepreneur-owned companies. By providing access to capital, strategic advice and an extensive network of relationships, Kinderhook has a history of successfully building privately held firms in partnership with management. For more information please visit: www.kinderhook.com.

 

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