Gryphon Investors’ Kano Laboratories Acquires Super Lube and Synco Brands

Super Lube and Synco Operating Assets Expand Kano’s Product Portfolio and Presence

Kano Laboratories (“Kano”), a leading manufacturer of penetrating oils, announced today that it has acquired the operating assets related to the Super Lube® and Synco® brands of Synco Chemical Corporation (“Synco” or the “Company”), a manufacturer of premium synthetic food grade greases and lubricants. Kano, whose brands include the iconic Kroil® penetrating oil brand, is backed by Gryphon Heritage Fund, the small cap strategy of middle market private equity firm Gryphon Investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With Synco’s branded Super Lube product portfolio, Kano will now offer a full suite of premium grease and lubricant solutions addressing the unique challenges facing its customers. Natalia Diaz will continue to lead Super Lube in her new role as President reporting to Mark Klein, President of Kano.

“We are pleased to support the Kano management team on this strategic acquisition, as we continue to build scale and drive growth,” said Craig Nikrant, Operating Partner on the Gryphon Heritage Fund team. “The Super Lube and Synco product lines greatly complement Kano’s market-leading Kroil brand, and the combination allows for a meaningful expansion of Kano’s offerings to better serve the expanding needs of customers.”

“Super Lube and Synco are proven premium brands with strong customer loyalty that fit perfectly with Kano’s established Kroil line,” said Mr. Klein. “We are excited to welcome Natalia and her team, and we expect the addition of these products to help accelerate growth and better serve our channel partners.”

“I am delighted to be partnering with the Kano and Gryphon teams and eager to leverage the added commercial resources and channel presence that Kano offers,” said Ms. Diaz. “Together with Kroil, we can now offer a comprehensive product portfolio to our customers.”

Kano is actively seeking to partner with additional businesses to further expand its premium portfolio of brands and products.

Finn Dixon & Herling LLP and Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP served as legal advisors to Synco, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal advice to Kano. G2 Capital Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to Kano.

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About Synco

Synco is a 40-year-old family-owned branded manufacturer of synthetic food grade greases and lubricants, including Super Lube®, a line of premium synthetic lubricants. Based in Bohemia, NY, Synco specializes in developing innovative products that meet ever-evolving regulatory requirements for environmental protection and consumer safety. Please visit www.super-lube.com for more information.

About Kano Laboratories

Founded in 1939 and based in Nashville, Tennessee, Kano is a leading producer of iconic, Kroil®-branded penetrating oils and lubricants for industrial maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO), and professional specialty trade markets. Kano has built a passionately loyal customer base around Kroil products, which are used by professionals and DIYers to loosen rusted, corroded, and frozen mechanical parts. For more information, visit https://www.kroil.com/.

About Gryphon Investors

Gryphon Investors (www.gryphoninvestors.com) is a leading middle-market private equity firm focused on profitably-growing and competitively-advantaged companies in the Business Services, Consumer, Healthcare, Industrial Growth, and Software sectors. With approximately $9 billion of assets under management, Gryphon prioritizes investments in which it can form strong partnerships with founders, owners, and executives to accelerate the building of leading companies and generate enduring value through its integrated deal and operations business model. Gryphon’s highly-differentiated model integrates its well-proven Operations Resources Group, which is led by full-time, Gryphon senior operating executives with general management, human capital acquisition and development, treasury, finance, and accounting expertise. Gryphon’s three core investment strategies include its Flagship, Heritage, and Junior Capital strategies, each with dedicated funds of capital. The Flagship and Heritage strategies target equity investments of $50 million to $350 million per portfolio company. The Junior Capital strategy targets investments in junior securities of credit facilities, arranged by leading middle-market lenders, in both Gryphon-controlled companies, as well as in other private equity-backed companies operating in Gryphon’s targeted investment sectors.

Contacts

Caroline Luz

Lambert
203-570-6462
CLUZ@LAMBERT.COM

Jennifer Hurson

Lambert
845-507-0571
JHURSON@LAMBERT.COM