Ownership profile
Who owns Tom's of Maine?
Tom's of Maine is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive, a publicly traded Fortune 500 consumer goods corporation — there is no private equity involvement.
Ownership profile
Tom's of Maine
Tom's of Maine, Inc. (subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive Company)
Evidence (6)
Colgate-Palmolive completed the purchase of 84% of Tom's of Maine for approximately $100 million on May 1, 2006
https://investor.colgatepalmolive.com/news-releases/news-release-details/colgate-completes-purchase-toms-maineColgate-Palmolive trades publicly on the NYSE under ticker CL, confirming it is not a private equity firm
https://investor.colgatepalmolive.com/news-releases/news-release-details/colgate-completes-purchase-toms-maineThe transaction was structured as an all-cash acquisition of 84% of outstanding shares; the Chappell family retained 16% with additional share purchase opportunities for Colgate over coming years
https://investor.colgatepalmolive.com/news-releases/news-release-details/colgate-purchasing-toms-maine-enters-fast-growing-naturalPitchBook lists Tom's of Maine's parent company as Colgate-Palmolive and notes its financing status as 'Formerly PE-Backed', indicating any prior PE involvement predates the Colgate acquisition
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/92940-94Tom's of Maine has been a majority-owned subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive since 2006, and is based in Kennebunk, Maine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%27s_of_MaineTom's of Maine was called out in Colgate-Palmolive's fourth-quarter earnings as a 'successful growth driver', confirming ongoing corporate subsidiary status
https://www.glossy.co/beauty/toms-of-maine-helps-colgate-palmolive-refresh-its-product-portfolio/What's uncertain
- The Chappell founding family retained a 16% stake at the time of the 2006 acquisition; whether Colgate has since exercised its additional share purchase options to acquire that remaining stake has not been independently confirmed in recent sources.
- PitchBook notes 'Formerly PE-Backed' status prior to the Colgate acquisition, but the identity of any prior pre-2006 PE backer was not investigated further as it is not material to current ownership.
- No post-2020 press releases or SEC filings were reviewed to confirm whether the subsidiary structure has changed since then, though all available sources consistently describe the corporate relationship as ongoing.