Dive Brief:
- After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, Tupperware Brands Corp. has an agreement in principle to sell itself to a group of its lenders, including Stonehill Capital Management and Alden Global Capital, the company said Tuesday in a press release.
- The lenders plan to buy the business for $23.5 million in cash and will swap $63 million in debt for ownership, court documents show. A sale hearing is set for Tuesday before Judge Brendan Shannon in bankruptcy court for the District Delaware. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the month.
- The pending sale agreement means a previously scheduled auction of Tupperware’s assets is canceled, court documents indicate. Going forward as a privately held company, the new owners plan to relaunch The New Tupperware Company in phases “with a start-up mentality.”
Dive Insight:
Established nearly 80 years ago, Tupperware said its business failure was due in large part to its inability to adapt to a new era of omnichannel and e-commerce focused retail, the company previously said.
After late starts into those sectors and years of poor performance, the company’s debt had ballooned to over $800 million ahead of its Sept. 17 bankruptcy filing. Shortly thereafter, some of the company’s newer lenders sought to acquire the company’s assets through a possible liquidation.
But now with a deal on the table and new owners in the wings, the company said Tuesday that after years of struggle with an over-leveraged balance sheet and an outdated operating model, the sale marks a fresh start for the company.
The transaction will include the sale of “all intellectual property needed to create and market” Tupperware’s brand and products plus its operating assets, the lender group said in a press release. The deal is expected to close by the end of this month and will involve Tupperware transitioning from a public to a privately held company.
Beyond the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the company said its initial focus is on five additional markets — Brazil, China, Korea, India and Malaysia — and the revamped company intends to expand further into Asia and Europe. As part of its go-forward strategy, Tupperware also said it will wind down operations in some existing global markets.
Tupperware will continue offering its products through independent sales consultants, e-commerce sites and retail partners in its revised list of global core markets.
"Tupperware is considered the inventor of the party selling model and made no-leak food conservation products famous,” CEO Laurie Ann Goldman, who has led the company since last October, said in an announcement. “Over the last year, we created a new strategy and operating approach that is digital-first, technology-led and asset-light, and preserved a global footprint for the company. We've made tremendous progress and are delighted this group of forward-thinking investors share our vision and will partner with us to grow.”
At the time of its Chapter 11 filing, the Florida-based company said it employed about 5,400 employees in 41 countries. It also claimed that over 465,000 freelance sales consultants offer its products in 70 countries. Tupperware reported about $1.1 billion in revenue for its 2023 fiscal year.
