Kitchen sponge maker Scrub Daddy explores sale, sources say

Reuters

Published Mar 28, 2024 02:46PM ET

Updated Mar 28, 2024 04:46PM ET

By Abigail Summerville

(Reuters) - Scrub Daddy, the kitchen sponge maker that gained popularity after securing an investment on U.S. TV show "Shark Tank," is exploring options that include a sale of the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

Scrub Daddy, which is backed by entrepreneur Lori Greiner, has hired JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) to advise on whether and how its investors, that include its founder and chief executive Aaron Krause, should cash out, the sources said.

The Pennsauken, New Jersey-based company generated more than $220 million of revenue last year, and could be worth several hundreds millions of dollars in a potential divestment of the entire company or stake sale, the sources said.

There is no certainty that Scrub Daddy will agree to any deal, the sources added, requesting anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations. Krause did not comment on the sale process when reached by email, while a JPMorgan spokeswoman declined to comment.

Krause founded Scrub Daddy in 2012 as a line of patented, texture-changing sponges. Later that year, he pitched his company on "Shark Tank" and received a $200,000 investment from Greiner for 20% of the company. The company's sales took off after that episode and appearances on the shopping network QVC, where Greiner appears.