Kitchen sponge maker Scrub Daddy explores sale, sources say

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 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.

Scrub Daddy now sells around 160 products, and it announced a partnership with Unilever Plc last year to develop co-branded products and grow internationally.

The company sells its products through its website, on Amazon.com, and at retailers including Target and Walmart.

(Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski)