Razor maker Harry's files for IPO, sources say

Edgewell Personal Care

07/03/2024 21:23

By Abigail Summerville and Echo Wang
       March 7 (Reuters) - Harry's Inc, a maker of razors and
other grooming and personal care products that was valued at
$1.7 billion in a private fundraising round in 2021, has filed
confidentially with U.S. regulators for an initial public
offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
    Harry's has tapped investment banks including Goldman Sachs
 GS.N , JPMorgan  JPM.N , Barclays  BARC.L  and Wells Fargo
 WFC.N  to prepare for the stock market debut in New York, the
sources said. 
    Harry's, whose investors include Bain Capital and Macquarie
Capital, is nearing $1 billion in annual revenue and is
profitable, the sources added, requesting anonymity because the
matter is confidential.
    Spokespeople for Harry's and the banks declined to comment. 
    Headquartered in New York, Harry's was launched in 2013 by
co-founders Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider. The company
started out as a direct-to-consumer men's grooming brand but has
since expanded into brick-and-mortar retailers and into hair
care, body care and other products. 
    Besides the original Harry's brand, it owns deodorant brands
Lumē and Mando, women's shaving brand Flamingo and cat care
brand Cat Person. The company has its own factory in Germany and
an in-house brand incubator called Harry's Labs. 
    In 2020, U.S. antitrust regulators thwarted an attempt by
Edgewell Personal Care  EPC.N  to acquire Harry's for $1.37
billion. The Federal Trade Commission objected to the deal,
arguing it would remove badly needed competition in the shaving
industry, which was dominated by Edgewell's Schick brands and
Procter & Gamble's  PG.N  Gillette brands. 
    However, another direct-to-consumer men's grooming upstart, 
Dollar Shave Club, changed hands last year, when Unilever
 ULVR.L  sold it to private equity firm Nexus Capital for an
undisclosed amount. 

 (Reporting by Abigail Summerville and Echo Wang in New York;
Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((abigail.summerville@thomsonreuters.com;))