The Shansby Group Closes $500 Million Private Equity Fund

The Shansby Group, a private equity investment firms specializing in acquiring consumer branded products and companies, including Comet, Spic and Span, and Cutex, announced today the successful closing of its $500 million TSG4 L.P. investor partnership. The Shansby Group originally sought $400 million when it started marketing the fund late last year.

“That we were able to exceed our goal and attract investors in a relatively short amount of time, reflects, we believe, recognition of our firm’s record and capabilities, the franchise we have established and the opportunities that exist in the consumer products field,” said Charles H. Esserman, a co-founder and managing director of The Shansby Group.

The 15-year-old firm said that investors in TSG4 L.P. included state pension funds, corporate pension funds, funds of funds and high net worth individuals. Credit Suisse First Boston was the private placement agent for the limited partnership interests. Beginning with its first investment in 1988, The Shansby Group has generated a gross compound annual internal rate of return on branded consumer investments in excess of 60%.

Founded by J. Gary Shansby and Mr. Esserman, The Shansby Group over the years has invested in over 35 companies and brands. “The consumer products field lends itself to the unique expertise of our firm and has, by and large, the virtues of being low-tech, non-cyclical and a strong cash generator,” commented Mr. Esserman.

Unlike traditional private equity investment firms, The Shansby Group, in addition to providing growth capital, works closely in partnership with management, capitalizing on its partners’ long-term experience in the consumer field. The firm also has established platform management teams, comprised of highly experienced CEOs, CFOs, marketing and senior line operating executives of consumer brand companies and well-known national retail chains. They operate in conjunction with partners of The Shansby Group to provide portfolio companies with strategic planning, plus day-to-day management advice. The firm’s partners’ and platform management’s assistance is wide-ranging, including product line extensions, new packaging, broadened distribution, financial structuring and support, and product development, among others.

The Shansby Group is comprised of more than 20 professionals, including four managing directors. In addition to Messrs. Esserman and Shansby, they include James L. O’Hara, previously with Bain and Company, and Michael L. Mauze, who had been with Lehman Brothers. The Shansby Group’s executive committee is comprised of the four managing directors, plus Peter Mann, the former president of the Americas for The Block Drug Company, who heads up the OTC, personal care and household products platform management group, and Charles A. Lynch, former chairman and CEO of Saga Corporation, who heads the food platform.