Wilhelm B. Könning

Private equity firm Ardiant has acquired ADA Cosmetics, one of Europe’s leading provider of hotel cosmetics, from The Carlyle Group for 500 million euros. The management of ADA Cosmetics has taken a minority stake in the company as part of the transaction, which is subject to approval by antitrust authorities.

ADA Cosmetics’ customer base is largely three to five star hotels and hotel chains, as well as airlines and cruise ships. Since 2010, ADA Cosmetics has grown consistently, with sales of 53 million euros expected in 2014. With around 300 employees and seven subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East as well as a global distribution network, ADA supplies nearly 15,000 customers in more than 50 countries. Working together with Ardian, ADA’s management intends to drive the company’s growth across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

In the past four years, we have significantly expanded our position as market leader for high quality hotel cosmetics in Europe, achieving a market share of 35 % in the key German speaking region. Together with Ardian, we now want to strengthen our position in the wider European and Asian markets using our innovative products. In the medium term, we are considering establishing local production facilities in Asia to serve markets in the region,” said Wilhelm B. Könning, CEO of ADA Cosmetics.