Silverwood snaps up stakes in beauty brands Lush and Sonotas

Investment firm Silverwood Brands has announced it has acquired stakes in two beauty brands, UK-based Lush and Japanese skincare manufacturer Sonotas.

The company snapped up a 19.8 percent stake in both Lush Cosmetics Limited (LCL) and Lush Cosmetic Warriors (LCW) from the brand’s executive director Andrew Gerrie and his wife Alison Hawksley.

Silverwood said it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire Lush shares, with a total consideration amounting to around 216.8 million pounds.

The deal will cover both Lush’s operating company LCL and CWL, which owns the rights to the brand and controls research and development.

For Sonotas Holdings Corporation, Silverwood has bought 90 percent of the label’s share capital, while the company has also acquired 100 percent of Sonotas Corporation from executive director Andrew Tone, as well as other sellers.

The firm added that it has entered into a put and call option agreement with Tone, which entitles the company to acquire from him the 10 percent balance of the total issued share capital during the six month period commencing 48 months after the completion date.

Once closed, Silverwood said 417,000 pounds in cash and 15.6 million pounds in its own shares will be paid to the Sonotas vendors.

In a release, Paul Hodgins, non-executive director of Silverwood, said: “I am delighted to announce the transactions relating to Lush and Sonotas.

“Both are tremendously exciting companies with a vast amount of growth potential. Silverwood is a rapidly growing business, with a team of highly experienced independent directors, and we are entrepreneurs ourselves.

“We have great respect for the strong values and track records of both these highly entrepreneurial companies. We look forward to engaging their management to provide support and to add value where we can, and in doing so also provide strong value to our own rapidly growing shareholder group.”