Retail giant Alliance Boots GmbH has purchased a luxury spa products company based in London—the company’s first deal out of its private equity fund.

B&B Investment Partners, a private equity firm founded in  September by Alliance Boots in partnership with the former chief executive of frozen food group Findus Group, has inked its debut deal, buying Aromatherapy Associates for undisclosed terms.

Aromatherapy Associates, founded in 1985, sells high-end spa products in more than 40 countries through various retailers, including department store Harrods and Selfridge & Co. The company’s footprint spans North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Aromatherapy Associates, which has a U.S. headquarters in Frisco, Texas, was majority-owned by investment company Optivi, which specializes in health and skincare.

Alliance Boots teamed with former-Findus chief Chris Britton and former Permira principal Jean-Philippe Barade to create the PE fund as a vehicle to source deals in the retailer sector. The company is partially owned by drugstore operator Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), which picked up a 45 percent stake in Alliance Boots for $4 billion in cash and 83.4 million shares in June 2012. 

 

Manufacturing industry