BWX, the debt-laden beauty roll-up that collapsed into administration almost a year ago, has sold its high-profile Sukin brand, selling it to an entity controlled by its former chief executive.KPMG, BWX’s receivers, said on Thursday that PNB Consolidated, a vehicle run by John Humble, would buy Sukin and the company’s Melbourne manufacturing facility. It paid just over $70 million for the assets.The auction’s final stage had Mr Humble competing with pharmaceutical billionaire Dennis Bastas, The Australian Financial Review reported in November. Earlier in the process, private equity giant TPG Capital – via its iNova Pharmaceuticals business – also considered buying the assets.The deal marks the end of Mr Humble’s attempts to own BWX. In 2018, he unsuccessfully teamed up with Bain Capital to acquire the business for $860 million. He exited soon after, instead purchasing a stake in Natural Beauty and Care via PNB Consolidated with ambitions to build a beauty franchisee.During the sale process, Sukin was pitched as a leading brand founded in 2007 and now with a 90 per cent distribution penetration and a spot in grocery and pharmacy aisles nationwide. The manufacturing facility has a capacity of 70 million units across four lines that can handle bottles, jars and tubes. Suitors were told the facility was new, and $34 million has already been investment into the asset.Once a small-cap darling, BWX ran into debt trouble in 2022, while delays and errors in posting its financial accounts sapped shareholders’ confidence.It asked its lender, Commonwealth Bank, to relax debt covenants four times before the bank finally lost patience in April and tipped the business into receivership. KPMG eventually hired Greenhill to shop the Australian assets.In tandem, Grant Samuel was brought in to run an auction for BWX’s 49.9 per cent stake in Zoe Foster Blake’s Go-To Skincare. The stake drew the attention of Suzi Carp’s River Capital, but was sold to Ms Foster Blake.The sale of Sukin and the manufacturing plant leaves BWX’s US operations, a marginal part of the business, which are still up for sale via KPMG.While the auction played out, CBA has been waiting to recoup about $120 million of debt it had extended to BWX.Meanwhile, the shareholders who stuck around until the end had to see their investment disappear. That includes Andrew Forrest’s Tattarang, who owned 19.8 per cent of BWX and had upped its stake in a June 2022 capital raising, shortly before the company’s troubles became public.
BWX Price at posting:
20.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
