CITIC Capital to acquire New Zealand's Trilogy for $175m

The China-focused GP will buy all outstanding shares in the company for NZ$2.90 apiece, a 27.8% premium to the December 14 closing price. The enterprise valuation equates to 13.6x EBITDA for the 12 months ended September.

TIL’s directors will vote all the shares they control in favor of the scheme. This includes the company’s largest shareholder, The Business Bakery, which has 31.2%. For the deal to proceed, at least 75% shareholder support is required. It would then need clearance from the High Court and the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.

The company was founded in 2004 as Ecoya, which is also the brand under which it sells fragrant candles and natural body care products. The Business Bakery bought an 83% stake in the business in 2008, listed it in 2010, and completed the bolt-on acquisition of Trilogy, a line of rosehip skincare products, the same year.

Renamed TIL, the company has since launched brands such as Goodness Natural Beauty Lab, By Nature, Lanocreme, Tiaki, and Rata & Co. It also acquired CS, a distributor of international cosmetics, fragrances, skincare and haircare brands in New Zealand.

Revenue increased 25% year-on-year to NZ$103.7 million – 51% from distribution, 28% from natural products, and 21% from home fragrances and body care – for the 12 months ended March 2017. EBITDA rose 19% to NZ$19.4 million and net profit increased 35% to NZ$12.7 million.

Australia and New Zealand account for more than 90% of TIL’s home fragrance and body care revenue and over 70% of its natural products revenue. However, the company sees strong potential for the latter business – rosehip oils – in China, noting that revenue jumped 35% in the most recent financial year.

TIL launched online stores through VIP.com and Alibaba Group’s Tmall platform in late 2016. The company said earlier this year that it would develop its cross-border e-commerce business through informal channels, such as Chinese tourists traveling to Australia and New Zealand, while building out a formal presence through a third-party distributor that employs a multi-platform approach.

“With our unique international capability, experience and resources, we expect to be able to further strengthen the brand equity of TIL’s premium New Zealand brands, and drive growth in China, the USA and other international markets. Our focus will be to serve a diverse and growing group of global consumers who desire beauty care products that are unique, high quality and natural,” Hanxi Zhao, a senior managing director at CITIC Capital, said in a statement.

CITIC Capital closed the US dollar-denominated tranche of its latest China fund at $1.57 billion earlier this year. A renminbi portion is still being raised. The GP previously operated separate vehicles for pure China deals and international transactions with a China expansion angle. The teams were combined for the most recent fund.

Recent examples of overseas acquisitions include the sexual health division of Australia-listed medical products supplier Ansell, European testing, inspection and certification company Formel D, and Axilone, a Europe-headquartered packaging supplier to the cosmetics industry. CITIC Capital often works with financial or strategic partners on such transactions.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Buyouts
• New Zealand
• Australia
• China
• CITIC Capital