We acquired a 70% of stake inTorf Corporation
A 30% of stake remains in hands of CEO Wojciech Piasecki and Director General Ryszard Gumiński. Both will continue to manage the company.
Our new fund Resource Eastern European Equity Partners II (REEEP II) was established in 2017 and manages funds supplied by international institutional investors, as well as by the Polish Growth Fund created by Bank GospodarstwaKrajowego and the European Investment Fund.
Torf Corporation has been present on the Polish cosmetics sector for over 27 years. It produces the well-known tołpa®brand of cosmetics,as well as private label production. The company started when Barbara Piasecka-Johnson began cooperating with respected biology professor StanisławTołpa to explore peat-based biologically active substances. Torf Corporation uses these substances in its cosmetics. The company has built a strong brand in Poland and is a leading producer of oral care products in Central and Eastern Europe.
"We have decided to acquire a majority stake in Torf Corporation because we appreciate company's achievements. We are impressed by the success of the Polish cosmetics industry, despite the strong presence of international companies. The Torf Corporation’s strategy based on natural ingredients such as peat tołpa® and mud tołpa® is a good foundation for further dynamic growth of the company in Poland. Private label production will allow company's growth in the whole region," said Małgorzata Bobrowska-Jarząbek, Partner and Co-Founder of Resource Partners.
"Our investment in Torf Corporation is an element of Resource Partners' strategy towards private companies in this region. We provide succession, or– as in this case – supply the know-how and financing to support product and market expansion. Together with our partners in the company's management we are hoping to increase exports through modern distribution channels within the European Union," said Ryszard Wojtkowski, the Managing Partner of Resource Partners.
"Together with Resource Partners, we want to build and expand our company. Our cosmetics are peat-based, which we extract to obtain a clear essence of active substances - peat tołpa® and mud tołpa®. We are focused on women and men who are aware that a healthy look is a matter of reasonable behavior and who know that less means more, also in skincare. Our products and our team have won numerous awards. That, together with the constant expansion of distribution are the best proof that our strategy has been appreciated," said Wojciech Piasecki, Torf Corporation CEO.
"Torf Corporation wants to continue developing thetołpa® brand in Poland and to strengthen its position on the very competitive private label market, not only in Poland. The recent expansion of our production plant with modern machinery allowsan increase in production while retaining effectiveness. Thanks to Resource Partners’ investment, we gained a reliable partner providing us not only with financing but also with an experience in developing private label products in Western and Central Europe," added Mr. Piasecki.
"As part of our continuing development, we plan to invest in new technologiesallowing us to extract active substances from peat and other natural ingredients which we can use in our products. We also do not exclude some M&A transactions within the cosmetics industry," said Director General Ryszard Gumiński.
RP with the “ESG Fund of the Year - Emerging Markets” award
Resource Partners has won the “ESG Fund of the Year - Emerging Markets” award at the prestigious Private Equity Wire ESG Awards! The award ceremony took place on October 9th in New York, where Małgorzata Bobrowska, Wojciech Pociecha and Paulina Janik proudly represented our team and accepted this incredible recognition.
Resource Partners-backed Buglo acquires Elverdal
Industry leader and Poland's largest manufacturer of playgrounds, Buglo Play, has acquired an overall stake and become the sole owner of Elverdal, a Danish company specialising in tailor-made projects. This transaction is an important part of Buglo Play's international expansion strategy and the implementation of the company’s key business objectives.
