Ares Funds $1.6B Deal, Forging Personal Care Titan Evermark

NEW YORK, NY – January 29, 2026 – A monumental shift is underway in the personal care aisle. A new titan, Evermark, LLC, has officially launched, consolidating a vast portfolio of iconic household brands following a merger financed by a staggering $1.6 billion debt package led by Ares Management Corporation.

The deal combines two portfolio companies of consumer-focused private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners—Suave Brands Company and Elida Beauty. The resulting entity, Evermark, now stands as a formidable independent player in the global personal care market, bringing brands like Suave, Q-tips, ChapStick, Pond's, St. Ives, and Noxzema under a single corporate umbrella.

This strategic consolidation, one of the largest in the sector in recent years, signals a powerful trend: the use of significant private credit to build new consumer goods empires from established, well-loved brands. The move is set to reshape the competitive landscape, creating a company with the scale and diversification to challenge larger, incumbent players.

A New Powerhouse Portfolio

Evermark enters the market not as a startup, but as a heavyweight with an estimated $1.9 billion in annual retail sales. Its strength lies in the sheer market penetration of its brands. The portfolio includes Suave, the top wash and care brand in the United States by volume, which is found in nearly half of all American households. It also controls Q-tips, the leading U.S. cotton swab brand, and ChapStick, the nation's number one lip balm by volume.

The combined roster is a who's who of bathroom cabinets and makeup bags, also featuring skincare staples like Pond's, Caress, and St. Ives, hair care line TIGI, and international names such as V05, Brut, and Timotei. This diversification across hair care, skin care, body care, and personal essentials gives Evermark a broad and resilient footing in the massive global beauty and personal care market, a sector valued at nearly $380 billion in 2024 and projected to exceed $630 billion by 2032.

The formation of Evermark reflects a strategic belief that these legacy brands, when managed under a focused, well-capitalized platform, can unlock significant new growth. “Evermark brings together two major personal care companies with a portfolio of strong household brands,” said Karen De Castro, Partner in Ares Credit, in a statement accompanying the announcement.

The Financial Muscle of Private Credit

The creation of Evermark was made possible by the substantial financial firepower of Ares Management. The $1.6 billion debt financing, for which Ares Credit funds served as the administrative agent, underscores the increasingly vital role of private credit in facilitating large-scale mergers and acquisitions, particularly in an environment where traditional bank lending can be more constrained.

Ares, a global alternative investment manager with over $595 billion in assets under management, leveraged its formidable U.S. Direct Lending platform to structure the deal. This platform has become a dominant force in corporate financing, closing approximately $46.5 billion in commitments across 328 transactions in the twelve months ending in mid-2025. The Evermark deal is a prime example of its capacity to provide flexible, one-stop capital solutions for complex transactions.

For Ares, the transaction highlights the strength of its consumer vertical and its ability to partner with private equity sponsors like Yellow Wood Partners to execute ambitious growth strategies. This type of large-scale debt financing allows private equity firms to consolidate assets, streamline operations, and invest in innovation without immediately diluting their equity, providing the fuel for long-term value creation.

Yellow Wood’s Blueprint for Brand Building

Behind Evermark stands Yellow Wood Partners, the Boston-based private equity firm that has carved a niche by acquiring and revitalizing established consumer brands. The firm’s strategy, which it calls its 'Consumer Operating DNA®', is a hands-on approach that combines deep industry research, data-driven analytics, and operational expertise to unlock hidden value in legacy products.

Yellow Wood’s portfolio already included over 40 household brands, and the formation of Evermark is the logical culmination of its investment thesis. By merging Suave Brands and Elida Beauty, the firm consolidates a diverse collection of assets into a more powerful and efficient platform. This increased scale is expected to generate operational synergies, enhance partnerships with retailers, and provide the financial foundation for significant investment in the brands themselves.

“This strategic financing has supported the strong launch of our combined business and enhances our ability to further invest in product quality, innovation and accessibility as we continue to execute our long-term growth strategy,” noted Tad Yanagi, Partner at Yellow Wood.

Revitalizing Icons for a New Era

While the financial and corporate structuring is complex, the ultimate goal is simple: sell more shampoo, lip balm, and face cream. The success of Evermark will hinge on its ability to reinvigorate its portfolio of iconic but, in some cases, challenged brands. Full-scale integration efforts are now underway, with Daniel Alter, formerly CEO of Suave Brands, taking the helm as CEO of Evermark.

Significant revitalization plans are already in motion. Suave, despite its massive volume, has seen sales dip in recent years. To counter this, major innovation drops for haircare and body wash are slated for early 2026, complete with upgraded packaging and fresh marketing aimed at younger consumers. ChapStick is also set for a broad restaging in 2026, with plans to extend the brand's relevance beyond its traditional winter-focused lip care franchise.

Even classic brands like Noxzema, founded in 1914, are scheduled for a “glow-up” to recapture market share lost over the decades. The strategy is not to abandon the value proposition that made these brands household names but to modernize them for a new generation of consumers. By combining the trust and recognition of these legacy products with renewed investment in innovation and marketing, Evermark and Yellow Wood are betting they can turn familiar staples into high-growth assets.