Give him their lesser labels. The 56-year-old advertising legend is asking the likes of Nestlé, Unilever, H.J. Heinz and Procter & Gamble to partner with his newest venture, Saatchiinvest, a quasiprivate equity fund that will use Saatchi’s creative team “to revive and reposition” lagging brands.
“We’ll take majority stakes, with the consumer goods companies remaining as partners to provide us with manufacturing and distribution,” says the Baghdad-born Saatchi, whose slogan “Labour’s Not Working” helped elect Margaret Thatcher. Saatchiinvest will rely on the expertise of Maurice, his brother Charles, 59, and their London-based ad agency, M&C Saatchi. Andrew Leek has been brought in from Alchemy Partners to run the fund.
Companies can retain a stake in their brands’ future success. “One problem with selling brands to rivals is that it can be embarrassing if they turn out to have a great new idea that you did not have,” says Lord Saatchi.
Saatchiinvest did its first deal last month: It’s buying 51 percent of two H.J. Heinz products -- Complan, a nutrition drink, and Casilan, a protein supplement for athletes -- sold in the U.K. Heinz will keep 34 percent of the companies, while management gets a 15 percent stake. “This will be the model for many future investments,” says Maurice.
