River Associates Acquires Minerva
Chattanooga, TN, August 2, 2024
River Associates Investments, L.P. (“River Associates”), a longstanding lower middle market private equity firm based in Chattanooga, TN, is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of Minerva Beauty, LLC. (“Minerva” or “the Company”). The transaction closed on August 2, 2024.
Founded in 2006 and based in Monroe, GA, Minerva is a market-leading designer and branded supplier of high-quality equipment and furnishings for the beauty and health & wellness industries. Today, the Company’s primary focus is within the salon industry, where it is celebrated for its innovative designs, exceptional customer service, and high-quality products. This dedication to service and quality has propelled Minerva to the forefront of the salon industry, making its products the preferred choice for thousands of salon owners and stylists nationwide.
“We met with a lot of different groups and from the start, River’s interest level, style and approach resonated with Fei and I,” said Jay Rawl, Co-Founder and CEO of Minerva. “They understood our vision for Minerva, and I feel confident they will continue to preserve the values and culture we’ve spent decades building. River has helped many other founder-owned businesses in similar stages of their life cycles execute organic and acquisition-based growth strategies. Their track record speaks for itself, and we are excited to partner together as we take the business through its next phase of growth.”
“We are excited to partner with Jay, Fei and the entire Minerva team,” said Stuart Vyule, Principal at River Associates. “This is a special business. It is a market disruptor with a clearly demonstrated track record of success that we hope to capitalize on as they continue to innovate in the marketplace and take share in adjacent product categories.”
River Associates funded the transaction with equity from its eighth investment fund (River VIII, L.P.).
River Associates and the Minerva management team will seek complementary strategic acquisition partners. For more information, please reach out to Mark Jones.