Fast bail-out of the American company COSMOLAB

Extremely short acquisition process secures existences.

In a very short amount of time the existence of Cosmolab was secured through a bankruptcy proceeding. A company based on exactly 100 years of tradition after its founding in 1910. Cosmolab will continue to operate as a specialized manufacturer of cosmetic pencils out of its current location in Lewisburg, Tennessee, USA.

Right from the beginning Schwan-STABILO Cosmetics was a solid bidder in the process with a true purchase intent as well as the necessary liquidity and it received the go-ahead on March 23rd, 2010.

“It showed very quickly that Cosmolab’s specific know-how and the production capacity fit perfectly into Schwan-STABILO Cosmetics’ portfolio”, says Ulrich Griebel, SSC Managing Director. “Cosmolab’s situation exemplifies the challenge a lot of companies are facing currently in the US market. There are basically only two strategies for these kinds of times: either strengthen your own market position with an acquisition or strategically exit. We are confident to secure Cosmolab’s existence and its 300 positions for the long term through its incorporation into the very well organized Schwan group.”

Cosmolab will continue as an independent company, which will stabilize its position based on very longstanding customer relationships. A total revenue of $40 Mio. is expected for 2010.

“With the acquisition of Cosmolab, the Schwan group is now in a position to offer different price points. All subsidiaries of the Schwan group will keep their own market-oriented business model and each corresponding focused product strategy” according to Barbara Bauer-Kropf, member of the SSC board of directors.

Schwan-STABILO Cosmetics together with a new Management Team intends to update production technology to the latest state and to seek further synergy within the Schwan-STABILO Cosmetics production unit. The financial basis will of course be turned around as well.

Another major plus of the company is the extremely knowledgeable employee base that will be managed again by Holli Montgomery. Holli used to successfully lead Cosmolab as CEO from 1999 to 2006.

About Schwan-STABILO group:

During the business year 2008/09 the Schwan-STABILO group total revenue was reported at 370 Mio. Euro. By June 30th, 2009 it recorded 3,519 employees.

For the business year 2009/10 ending June 30th the Schwan-STABILO group is confident to close at last year’s level or with a slight increase based on numbers from the first 9 months.

Based on the group’s strong equity capital, the company was able to finance the acquisition with its own means.