Ares Buys Parent of Marietta

Los Angeles investment firm Ares Management said Wednesday that it had acquired Marietta Corp., which bills itself as the world’s largest supplier of soaps and shampoos to hotels.

Ares, which already owns lingerie marketer Maidenform Inc. and a major stake in luggage maker Samsonite Corp., didn’t disclose the price tag for BFMA Holding Corp., the parent of Cortland, N.Y.-based Marietta. However, sources valued the deal at about $150 million.

Under terms of the deal, which is expected to close by year’s end, Marietta will continue to be a privately held company run by Rick Bloom, its current president.

Marietta has about 900 employees and sells about 5,000 products.

“We look forward to expanding our business further into all segments of the lodging sector,” Bloom said.

Ares, founded seven years ago by former financiers from Apollo Management and now-defunct Drexel Burnham Lambert, launched a publicly traded fund last month, raising $165 million from investors.

Ares Capital Corp. shares, which had languished since going public Oct. 5 at $15 a share, rose this week after Wachovia Securities initiated coverage of the stock with an “outperform” rating. The stock Wednesday rose 52 cents to $16.75 on Nasdaq.

Known mostly as a high-yield bond management firm, Ares Management has pursued several deals this year, focusing on companies with high-profile brands.

Besides Samsonite and Maidenform, Ares this year invested in House of Blues Entertainment Inc., the privately held nightclub chain that will use the financing to open new venues.

Marietta was formed in the early 1970s by a cabbage farmer from Marietta, N.Y., who decided to make shampoo packets like the ones he’d received in hotels during his European travels. Now, with factories throughout the world, Marietta’s plant in Mississippi is the largest maker of miniature soaps in North America.