Friend Skoler Announces Investment in Petmatrix LLC
SADDLE BROOK, NEW JERSEY, August 31, 2012 -- Friend Skoler & Co., Inc., a private equity firm that invests in leading companies in the smaller end of the middle market, announced today that it has completed a minority investment in Petmatrix LLC. Petmatrix ("Petmatrix") manufactures and markets patented non-rawhide pet chews under the Dreambone® and Smartbones® brand names.
Founded in 2008, Petmatrix is a manufacturer and marketer of innovative, nutritional two layer chew products for dogs that are healthy alternatives to rawhide. The Company's products, which consist of a vegetable based outer layer and real chicken jerky inner portion, are rawhide free, 99% digestible and highly palatable. Petmatrix's products are sold primarily to mass merchant, specialty pet and grocery retailers in the U.S. Petmatrix is led by founders Mark Stern, Peter Wheeler and Martin Glinsky.
"Dreambone® and Smartbones® products represent the next generation of dog chew, and the market's reaction to these products has been overwhelmingly positive. Petmatrix is led by a proven management team with a combined 80 years of experience in the pet industry, and we could not be more excited about the opportunity to partner with Mark, Peter and Marty to support the company's growth in the years ahead," said Alexander Friend, a Managing Director of Friend Skoler & Co.
"We welcome the investment by Friend Skoler," said Mark Stern, President and CEO of Petmatrix LLC. "It is a real vote of confidence from experienced private equity investors who have a strong record of success in the pet products industry."
About Friend Skoler & Co.
Founded in 1998, Friend Skoler & Co., Inc. is a private equity firm that invests in leading companies in the smaller end of the middle market in partnership with management. FSC typically invests between $5 million and $30 million of equity per transaction. A key element of the firm's strategy is to leverage its extensive experience as investors in and operators of middle market companies. Friend Skoler is headquartered in Saddle Brook, NJ. For additional information, please visit www.friendskoler.com.
About Petmatrix LLC
Petmatrix is a manufacturer and marketer of patented, non-rawhide pet chews for dogs sold under the brands DreamBone® and SmartBones®.
For more information, please visitwww.petmatrix.net, www.smartbones.com andwww.dreambone.com.
For additional information, contact:
Alexander Friend
Friend Skoler & Co., Inc.
201-712-0075
alex@friendskoler.com