Dresner Partners, Mergers Alliance partner in USA, is pleased to announce that it advised Vic West Brands, creator of Grandpa Gus’s™ Natural Pest Control Products, in its sale to VCM Products, LLC (VCM), owner of BuggyBeds and EcoBuggy brands. Vic West Brands founder, Nick Olynyk, will remain part of the executive management team, overseeing the company’s e-commerce strategy and growth plans.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vic West Brands is a leading direct-to-consumer online pest control manufacturer. The company specializes in the creation and innovation of plant-based pest solutions and sells across all retail channels in multiple countries. The company also maintains shelf placement in brick and mortar stores throughout North America, and appears on QVC and in mail-order catalogs.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Freehold, New Jersey, VCM is a leading pest repellent manufacturer and wholesaler with products sold nationally at major retailers and online. VCM is also a portfolio company of Rock Mountain Capital, a private equity firm focused on working with entrepreneurs and management teams in the consumer goods and services, healthcare services, and technology, media and telecom (TMT) sectors. Financing for the acquisition was provided by Plexus Capital, the company’s existing lender.
Commenting on the transaction, Nick Olynyk said, “I would like to thank Christopher Kampe and the Dresner team for helping us complete this transaction. By partnering with Rock Mountain Capital and VCM Products, we expect growth across multiple channels to accelerate exponentially. Our combined industry experience, technology and management teams create a true synergy of product, knowledge and ambition within the consumer pest control space.”
Steven M. Dresner, President of Dresner Partners said, “The combination of Vic West Brands with VCM Products creates a very strong portfolio of complimentary and counter seasonal brands. We look forward to watching the combined entities expand their market leadership in the natural, plant-based pest and insect control product categories.”
Christopher Kampe, Managing Director, Consumer and Retail at Dresner Partners, who led the project team added, “This highly synergistic transaction brings together the Grandpa Gus’s, BuggyBeds, and EcoBuggy natural pest-repellant brands. While VCM Products are well known in the mosquito repellent and bed bug categories, and sell through major national big box retailers, Vic West Brands, DBA Grandpa Gus’s, is best known for rodent repellents and are sold primarily through the direct-to-consumer and online marketplace channels.”
