“Marianna and ANR are highly complementary, well-established players in the beauty and personal care industry,” says Frank Papa, Senior Partner of CORE, in a press release about the acquisition deal.
And he goes on to explain that, “The two companies combine to form an industry leader with substantial operational scale, comprehensive chemical formulation capabilities, and plentiful capacity for their customers.”
“We’re excited to work with the Marianna team to expand both their product offerings and their geographic reach,” concludes Papa.
Acquisition deal combines ANR and Marianna Beauty contract manufacturing businesses
Arizona Natural Resources (ANR) and Marianna Beauty have both been in business for around 50 years. Marianna Beauty has its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, while ANR is based (as one might expect) in Phoenix, Arizona.
ANR serves the consumer beauty industry as well as making product for the pet care and household cleaning sectors. Marianna Beauty, on the other hand, serves primarily the professional beauty space, making product for salon brands and even works with cosmetology schools on product and education.
In March 2020 Marianna partnered with Coty Pro to better meet beauty schools’ needs: “What truly delighted us was Marianna’s customization capabilities and unparalleled market penetration in the cosmetology channel,” Victoria Gallo Anthony, then Manager of Schools for Coty Professional, told the press at the time. “With their partnership,” she said, “we can focus on delivering the best-in-class product and education to students and professionals.”
Now, as a single business, ANR and Marianna Beauty will have a wider reach geographically, operationally, and across industry sectors: “The combination of Marianna and Arizona Natural Resources will generate immediate benefits to our customers as we build on the already formidable product capabilities of the two businesses, leverage scale advantages that come with operating a much larger company, and expand our enterprise distribution footprint across the West Coast and Midwest,” says Mike Cate, Chief Executive Officer for Marianna, in the May press release about the acquisition.
“I look forward,” he says, “to working with the ANR and Marianna teams to continue to drive value to customers through our organic and acquisition-based growth initiatives.”
CORE Industrial Partners orchestrated the ANR – Marianna Beauty deal
CORE Industrial Partners is a Chicago, Illinois – based private equity firm active in manufacturing and industrial services and tech. And ANR is the firm’s only investment squarely situated in the cosmetics and personal care industry. (For ANR’s acquisition of Marianna Beauty the firm was represented by Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.)
“We remain committed to investing in the personal care products space with a particular focus on hair and skin care companies that can further expand the combined platform,” John May, Managing Partner of CORE, tells the press.
“We believe the long-term growth fundamentals of this industry coupled with CORE’s capital and resources is a winning combination to build a larger industry player that will benefit our customers,” says May.
