Bayer sells Dr.Scholl’s business to Yellow Wood Partners

Yellow Wood Partners will buy the Dr. Scholl’s foot care business from Bayer for a purchase price of $585 million, the companies said amid Bayer’s voluntarily recall of a product in the USA.

Dr. Scholl’s is a brand with over 110 year heritage with unmatched brand equity in the foot care category and the #1 sales position in the most attractive segments – a true category leader.

Yellow wood noted Dr. Scholl’s generated sales of $234 million in 2018. With the acquisition of Dr. Scholl’s™, Yellow Wood Partners will create a stand-alone company in which it plans to invest in all aspects of the business to drive the growth and profitability of the brand to deliver value for all of its stakeholders, Yellow Wood said.

Dana Schmaltz of Yellow Wood Partners, said: “Dr. Scholl’s™ is the leading brand in the footcare category and we see great potential to grow the brand in its existing and other sales channels. The brand fits extremely well into the Yellow Wood consumer-focused business model as our firm has the operating experience from other carve-out investments to work with the Bayer employees who are continuing with the brand to build an exciting new stand-alone platform company.”

Heiko Schipper, member of Bayer’s Board of Management and President of Consumer Health, said: “Since Bayer took ownership of Dr. Scholl’s™ in late 2014, we have made progress in revitalizing the brand and developing an exciting pipeline of innovative products. We look forward to seeing the brand taken to the next level of success under Yellow Wood’s ownership.” 

Yellow Wood Partners said it will acquire the product rights to Dr. Scholl’s™ in the Americas and take over approximately 30 dedicated brand personnel in the United States and Canada, including Sales and Marketing, Research & Development and others. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2019 subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval by the competition authorities.