Consumer products company Jarden Corporation (NYSE: JAH) has moved to acquire Waddington Group Inc., parent company of Boulder-based Eco Products.
The $1.35 billion deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015.
“We are obviously excited,” said Wendell Simonson, Eco Products’ vice president of marketing. “We expect to benefit by being part of a company that’s moving brands around the world.”
Eco Products joins a host of U.S. brands under Jarden’s large umbrella, including Yankee Candle, Coleman, Marmot, Sunbeam, and Crock-Pot.
“(Boulder is) a natural products center in the U.S. and globally,” said Clif Harald, board member of industry trade group Naturally Boulder and executive director of Boulder Economic Council. “(The sale) is an affirmation of the innovation and business savvy in Boulder’s natural products economy.”
This marks the second changing of hands for Eco Products, pioneers in the field of sustainable, disposable food service supplies. The company was purchased in 2012 by Waddington, a holding company for plastics businesses in North America and Europe.
Jarden, based in Boca Raton, Fla., strengthens its holdings in Europe with the acquisition of Waddington from investment firm Olympus Partner, of Standford, Ct.
“We are delighted to announce this acquisition, which is consistent with our fourteen-year track record of success in acquiring businesses with category-leading positions in niche markets,” said Martin E. Franklin, Jarden’s founder and executive chairman, in a news release.
Simson said the move will allow Eco Products to increase its presence in the European market, where demand for recyclable and compostable “breakroom products,” such as coffee cups and forks, far outstrips supply.
He said operations at the Boulder office, 4755 Walnut St., will not be affected. The company employs 40 people locally.
Eco Products began in 1990 as the brainchild of father-and-son team Kent and Steve Savage. Kent retired in 1999, and Steve became president and CEO. He stepped down in July 2009, retaining a post as chairman of the board.
Today, the company supplies compostable products to several restaurants and large venues in Boulder and beyond, including Folsom Field and Red Rocks Amphitheater.
Simonson said the deal also opens up opportunities for acquisitions, something Eco Products will be looking at in the coming months.
“We’re still growing really, really fast,” he said, noting that last month was the biggest ever in terms of revenue.
Fiscal year 2014 also was the first time the company passed $100 million in sales, he said.
Shay Castle: 303-473-1626, castles@dailycamera.com, @shayshinecastle