Karex acquires ‘TheyFit’ assets

PETALING JAYA: Condom manufacturer Karex Bhd has signed an asset purchase agreement with custom fit condom maker TheyFit LLC, to acquire intellectual property, as well as Food and Drug Administration approvals, for US$1.3 million (RM5.5 million).
Karex’s subsidiary in the US, Global Protection Corp (GP) will manage the intellectual property, the TheyFit® trademark, all approvals to carry on its business including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals, the websites, distribution agreement, business information and inventory from TheyFit.
“Karex is very excited with this acquisition as TheyFit® condoms are the only custom fit condoms in the world today. With the intellectual property and patents such as FitKitTM and the FDA approvals, our group will be able to build on its platform,” Karex CEO Goh Miah Kiat said in a statement yesterday.
FitKitTM is a patented measurement kit which allows consumers to customise their size of condoms just like tailor-made clothes or shoes.
“GP will manage this expansion plan, which I believe will certainly take our OBM (original brand manufacturer) business to the next level,” he said.
TheyFit is a company incorporated in the US, which owns the patents, trade names and trademarks for condoms manufactured, marketed and sold under the TheyFit® brand in key markets such as the UK and Europe.
TheyFit® custom fit condoms come in 95 different sizes and they have been sold in 28 European member states through its distributors in the UK and Europe.
TheyFit also owns websites that serve as an online platform for the retail market worldwide, especially in the US recently. The company has obtained the FDA approvals to market its custom fit condoms in the US market.
“This is definitely an excellent opportunity for GP as our business has been growing since our collaboration with Karex. You can see that we are continuing with our building blocks for GP’s footprint, especially in the North America markets. We are extremely confident that our initiatives will be well-received to further spur GP’s market share in the US,” said GP president Davin Wedel.
The proposed acquisition is expected to be completed by end of this month.