HOUSTON — Pennzoil Quaker State Co., dba SOPUS Products, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, has begun a strategic review of its Car Care portfolio.
Shell’s Car Care business is a comprehensive portfolio of leading car care brands including Rain-X, Auto Expressions, Fix-a-Flat, Black Magic, Blue Coral and Westley’s brand appearance products and Gumout, Slick 50 and The Outlaw brand of automotive chemicals.
The first action as a result of this review is a Letter of Intent and advanced discussions to sell Auto Expressions, Shell’s auto accessories and air care business to Kraco Enterprises LLC, an affiliate of private investment firm Sun Capital Partners. Kraco Enterprises is a leading distributor of automotive aftermarket floor mats, including cargo floor mats for vehicle, home and shop use.
The proposed sale would include Auto Expressions operations in the U.S. and Hong Kong, as well as all Shell Car Care International activities and several licensing agreements with leading brands, including SC Johnson’s Glade and Ed Hardy. Kraco plans to broaden its garage and floor mat product offering and establish a foothold to grow its accessory and floor mat business internationally, with the addition of the Auto Expressions business.
"Our Car Care brands are a valuable and growing part of our business," said Lisa Davis, president for Shell Lubricants, Americas. "For them to achieve their full potential, they require additional continued focus and resources. This review will enable us to determine where we are best positioned to deliver growth and establish the best long-term scenarios for our successful Car Care brands."
SOPUS Products representatives expect to complete the review and announce results by the end of the third quarter 2010.
