• March 31, 2009

Procter & Gamble has sold its Johnson Products Co. unit, an African-American hair care products line, to RCJP Acquisition, Inc., a newly formed independent entity comprised of Los Angeles-based private equity firms Rustic Canyon/Fontis Partners, LP and St. Cloud Capital LLC, along with an African-American management team of industry veterans. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The company will operate as Johnson Products Co. The new management team will be led by two industry veterans with strong ties to the business, husband and wife team, Eric Brown and Renee Cottrell-Brown. They have held senior executive positions with Pro-Line International, Inc. subsidiary of Alberto-Culver Co. Brown will serve as chief executive officer, with Cottrell-Brown as executive vice president.

In 1971, Johnson Products became the first minority-run enterprise to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, it offers more than 30 hair care products, including the Gentle Treatment and Ultra Sheen brands. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Dallas.

Johnson Products has annualized sales of more than $23 million. Its products are sold throughout the U.S. and in a global market that the company estimates to be approximately $1.8 billion.--Karl Greenberg