Harris Williams Advises Two Sigma Impact and Avance Investment Management on Their Investment in Wholesale Supplies Plus

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announces it advised Two Sigma Impact and Avance Investment Management (Avance) on their investment in Wholesale Supplies Plus (WSP). WSP is a leading e-commerce provider of ingredients and supplies to commercial artisans who create personal care, beauty and home fragrance products. The transaction was led by Kelly McPhilliamy and Beau Pierce of the Harris Williams Consumer Group.

“Commercial artisans rely on WSP for the high-quality ingredients and supplies they need to create skincare, candles and soap. It is a leader in a vibrant and growing sector within beauty and personal care,” said Kelly McPhilliamy, a managing director at Harris Williams. “It was a pleasure working with the teams at Two Sigma Impact, Avance and WSP on this transaction, and we are excited to see WSP continue to thrive under its new ownership.”

“We look forward to partnering with Avance and the WSP management team as the company continues its mission of empowering artisans and small businesses to find success in their trade,” said Amar Doshi, senior principal at Two Sigma Impact.

“We enjoyed the collaboration with Harris Williams in making our fund’s inaugural investment, and we are excited to support the pursuit of our shared vision for WSP with the management team and Two Sigma Impact,” said Luis Zaldivar, co-founder and managing partner of Avance.

Two Sigma Impact is a business of Two Sigma. Its mission is to combine active, principled ownership and data science with the goal of achieving superior returns and positive social outcomes. The Two Sigma Impact team is focused on workforce impact – where they anticipate innovative and thoughtful investments in humans will lead to an enhanced employee experience, productivity and long-term financial returns. As part of Two Sigma, Two Sigma Impact has access to expertise in data science, technology, and a range of corporate specialties, and seeks to support its portfolio companies with those resources.

Avance is a private equity firm with a passion for building great businesses in partnership with talented management teams. Avance focuses primarily on thematic investments within the services and consumer areas in the U.S., seeking attractive opportunities with catalysts for growth and fragmented spaces with consolidation opportunities. Avance's team has a long history of partnering with founder-owned businesses, industry executives, and management teams and aims to add value to each investment through the application of its STAGE value creation framework. Avance has offices in New York and Miami.

WSP is an industry-leading provider of high-quality raw materials, supplies and packaging for soap, skincare and candle artisans. The company's broad product assortment and complementary support enable an expanding artisan community to meet growing consumer demand for authentic, local and clean label personal products.

Harris Williams, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advocates for sellers and buyers of companies worldwide through critical milestones and provides thoughtful advice during the lives of their businesses. By collaborating as one firm across Industry Groups and geographies, the firm helps its clients achieve outcomes that support their objectives and strategically create value. Harris Williams is committed to execution excellence and to building enduring, valued relationships that are based on mutual trust. Harris Williams is a subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC).

The Harris Williams Consumer Group has completed transactions across a variety of verticals, including branded consumer products; consumer services; food, beverage and agribusiness; and restaurant and retail. For more information on the Harris Williams Consumer Group and recent transactions, visit the Consumer Group’s section of the Harris Williams website.

Harris Williams LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is a private limited company incorporated under English law with its registered office at 8th Floor, 20 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AB, UK, registered with the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales (registration number 07078852). Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH is registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under HRB 107540. The registered address is Bockenheimer Landstrasse 33-35, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (email address: [e-mail]). Geschäftsführer/Directors: Jeffery H. Perkins, Paul Poggi. (VAT No. DE321666994). Harris Williams is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC, Harris Williams & Co. Ltd and Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH conduct business.