CR Brands, the Arm & Hammer, OxyClean brand licensee, files for bankruptcy liquidation

Sep 21, 2023

CR Brands Inc., a consumer packaged goods company with a portfolio of licensed cleaning products under the Arm & Hammer and OxiClean brand names, has filed for bankruptcy liquidation.

CR Brands, a portfolio company of Resilience Capital Partners in Beachwood, Ohio, listed creditors of between 100 and 199, assets of zero, and liabilities of $21.9 million in its bankruptcy petition, which was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Cleveland.

Of two creditors whose claims are secured by inventory, Encore Funding, the Pepper Pike, Ohio-based alternative lender, is owed $4.3 million, according to the bankruptcy filing.

Taxing authorities in California, Delaware, Kentucky and Texas hold priority claims not secured by collateral of almost $28,000, according to the filing. And so-called "nonpriority" creditors — meaning they get paid after creditors with priority claims — hold more than $17.5 million in unsecured claims, the filing states.

These nonpriority creditors include Momentum Industries, the contract manufacturer based in Rome City, Indiana, which holds a production claim for $13.5 million, and Church & Dwight Co., CR Brands' chief licensor, which holds a claim for $113,000, according to the filing.

A creditors' meeting is scheduled for April, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District in Ohio.

Resilience Capital, the private equity firm that invests in niche-oriented manufacturing, value-added distribution and business service companies, acquired CR Brands for undisclosed terms in 2012.

A phone message and email to Bassem Mansour, co-CEO of Resilience Capital, seeking comment on the company's bankruptcy were not returned prior to the publication of this story.

In 2012, CR Brands was headquartered in the Cincinnati area and operated manufacturing facilities in Spartanburg, South Carolina, according to a Resilience Capital statement.

At that time, CR Brands developed, made and marketed laundry and cleaning products under the Mean Green, Biz, Oxydol, Pine Power and Magnum Power brands for retailers including Dollar General, Family Dollar, Walmart, Target and Kroger, according to Resilience Capital's website.

After acquiring CR Brands, Resilience brought in new leadership and implemented an ambitious growth plan that concentrated on growing the company's differentiated niche brands, the private equity firm said in 2018.

That year, CR Brands sold its Mean Green specialty cleaning products line and exclusive U.S. and Canadian license for Roto-Rooter-branded drain care products to the Rust-Oleum group of RPM International in suburban Medina, Ohio, Resilience Capital said.

And in 2020, CR Brands sold its Biz and Dryel specialty laundry product brands to Scott's Liquid Gold Inc. for undisclosed terms, Greenwood Village, Colorado-based Scott's said.

CR Brands was founded in 2000 by Rich Owen, then, the company's president and CEO, who was a 10-year veteran of Cincinnati consumer product giant Procter & Gamble, Resilience Capital said.

Owen saw a growing opportunity to capitalize on strong but underserved brand equities, acquiring Oxydol and Biz from Procter & Gamble with a partner, Resilience said.

In 2006, Redox merged with ChemPro Inc., the maker of Mean Green and Pine Power, to create CR Brands, the private equity firm said.