Who Owns Bayport Laboratories?
The Houston-area cosmetics contract manufacturer at the center of Garcia v. Bayport Laboratories, LLC et al., S.D. Tex. No. 4:25-cv-3676, is not an independent local company. According to public filings — including a withdrawn 2021 S-1 registration statement, court records, and the company's own press releases — Bayport Laboratories LLC sits at the bottom of a multi-layer corporate chain controlled by some of the largest private equity firms in the world.
This page collects what is on the public record.
All items marked [verify] are pending source confirmation before publication.
The Short Version
Bayport Laboratories LLC is a U.S. operating subsidiary inside the KDC/One (Knowlton Development Corporation) global manufacturing platform — a roughly $2.1 billion multinational with 25+ facilities in 11 countries and 15,000+ employees, headquartered in Longueuil, Québec, Canada.
KDC/One is privately held. Its principal investors, identified in its 2021 SEC S-1 filing and subsequent public announcements, include Cornell Capital LLC (lead/controlling investor), KKR & Co. Inc., CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec), and HarborVest Partners LLC, with additional investors including Investissement Québec, Constitution Capital Partners, C2 Capital Partners, and CDIB Capital International.
The Full Ownership Chain
| Layer | Entity | Jurisdiction | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornell Capital LLC | New York / Hong Kong | Lead controlling PE investor (~$5B AUM) |
| 1 | KKR & Co. Inc. | New York (NYSE: KKR) | Strategic minority investor (~$744B AUM) |
| 1 | CDPQ | Montréal, QC | Co-investor (C$424B AUM pension fund) |
| 1 | HarborVest Partners LLC | Boston, MA | Co-investor (~$58B AUM) |
| 1 | Investissement Québec | Québec | Government investment arm |
| 1 | Constitution Capital Partners | Andover, MA | Co-investor |
| 2 | Knowlton Development Parent, Inc. | British Columbia, Canada | Ultimate parent holding company |
| 3 | kdc/one Development Corporation, Inc. | British Columbia, Canada | Primary operating company |
| 4 | KDC US Holdings, Inc. | Delaware | U.S. subsidiary holding company |
| 5 | BL Holdings, LLC | Delaware | Intermediate holding company for Bayport |
| 6 | Bayport Laboratories LLC | Texas (operations) | Named defendant — operating entity |
Sources: KDC/One S-1 filing (SEC CIK 1846055, withdrawn October 2021); KDC/One corporate press releases; Cornell Capital fund disclosures; PitchBook (public profile data).
The Private Equity Investors
Cornell Capital LLC — controlling shareholder
Founded in 2013 by Henry Cornell, former Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs' Merchant Banking Division. Approximately $5 billion in assets under management. Cornell Capital led the December 2018 acquisition of KDC/One from Novacap and remains the largest shareholder. Its SEC affiliate identified in the KDC/One S-1 is CC KDC Co-Invest LP.
KKR & Co. Inc. — strategic minority investor
Publicly traded (NYSE: KKR), with ~$744 billion in assets under management as of year-end 2025. KKR made a strategic minority investment in KDC/One in March 2022. Cornell Capital retained its controlling position after the KKR investment.
CDPQ — Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
One of the world's largest institutional investors, managing C$424 billion in net assets. CDPQ was an original investor in KDC alongside Novacap and rolled over a significant equity stake in the 2018 Cornell acquisition. SEC affiliate: CDP Investissements Inc.
HarborVest Partners LLC
Global private markets specialist with over $58 billion in assets under management. Co-invested with Cornell Capital in the December 2018 acquisition.
Other named investors
Investissement Québec (government investment arm), Constitution Capital Partners (Andover, MA), C2 Capital Partners, and CDIB Capital International — each identified in KDC/One disclosures and PitchBook.
KDC/One: The Parent
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual revenue | ~$2.1 billion (FY 2021) |
| Employees | 15,000+ |
| Manufacturing facilities | 25 in 11 countries |
| R&D / innovation centers | 27 |
| Manufacturing & R&D space | 6+ million sq. ft. |
| Total capital raised | $4.3 billion (PitchBook) |
| 2023 cross-border refinancing | $1.8 billion |
| 2023 senior secured notes | $500 million (due 2028) |
| Withdrawn 2021 IPO target | $800 million (NYSE: KDC) |
KDC/One has built itself through acquisition. Public announcements since 2015 include Acupac Packaging (2015), Thibiant International (2016), Aromair Fine Fragrance (2017), Groupe ALKOS in France (2019), Benchmark Cosmetic Laboratories (2019), HCT Group / HCT Packaging (December 2019 / January 2020), Cosmetic Laboratories of America (2020), Zobele Group (2020), Aerofil Technology (2022), Laffon S.r.l. in Italy (2024), and Barony Universal (2025).
HCT Packaging — The 33% Question
HCT Packaging, Inc. (founded 1992 in Santa Monica by Chris Thorpe; led today by Tim Thorpe) merged with KDC/One in January 2020 and now operates as "HCT by kdc/one." It is not an independent company.
HCT Packaging is one of only four entities Bayport's counsel listed by name in its September 17, 2025 Rule 7.1 Certificate of Interested Persons. The certificate did not disclose HCT's relationship to Bayport, its ownership percentage in BL Holdings or Bayport (alleged to be approximately 33% [verify percentage source before publishing]), or that HCT itself is a subsidiary of KDC/One controlled by the same PE investors.
What Has Been Disclosed in Federal Court
Bayport's Rule 7.1 Certificate of Interested Persons (Dkt. 13, filed September 17, 2025) lists nine names. It provides:
- No descriptions of corporate relationships
- No ownership percentages
- No identification of any parent corporation or controlling investor
- No identification of the British Columbia, Delaware, or Québec entities in the chain above
- No identification of Cornell Capital, KKR, CDPQ, HarborVest, or any other PE investor
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1 was amended on December 1, 2022 to require, in diversity cases, disclosure by name and citizenship of every individual or entity whose citizenship is attributed to a party. For an LLC like Bayport, that means tracing every layer of ownership upward until the chain reaches a corporation or natural person.
The Fifth Circuit addressed this directly in Domain Protection, LLC v. Sea Wasp, LLC, 23 F.4th 529 (5th Cir. 2022), warning that failure to comply can result in "prompt dismissal that wastes time, energy, and money" or "nullification of years of litigation, sanctions for bad faith, and even attorney discipline proceedings for lack of candor to the courts."
Insurance Disclosure Gaps
Bayport's initial disclosures identified one policy:
- Carrier: Scottsdale Indemnity Company (administered by Nationwide Professional & Specialty Claims)
- Policy: EKI3547741 — Business & Management Indemnity Policy, Employment Practices (EP) Coverage
- Period: November 1, 2024 – November 1, 2025
- Loss limit: $1,000,000
- Additional aggregate: $1,000,000 (costs, charges, expenses)
Not disclosed in Bayport's initial production:
- Any insurance for BL Holdings, LLC (the Delaware parent)
- Any insurance for HCT Packaging, Inc. (the alleged ~33% holder)
- Any master insurance program or umbrella policy maintained by KDC/One for its portfolio companies
- Whether Cornell Capital or KKR maintain portfolio-wide programs that cover Bayport
- Any D&O, CGL, or excess liability policies that may respond
- Whether the Scottsdale policy has been renewed for the 2025–2026 period
PE-backed portfolio companies typically maintain consolidated master programs across subsidiaries. A $1M EPL limit at the bottom of a $2.1 billion KKR/Cornell Capital structure is, on its face, thin.
Texas Public Information Requests (PIRs)
This section will collect Texas Public Information Act requests, agency responses, and corporate filings relevant to Bayport's Texas operations and registrations.
[in progress — populate with: TX SOS filings for Bayport Laboratories LLC, FDA registration & MoCRA compliance status, OSHA inspection history, and any TX agency responses already received. Cross-reference with BayportOwners.pdf in workspace.]
Why This Matters
A subsidiary's ability to satisfy a judgment, settle within policy limits, or weather litigation is rarely visible from its operating entity alone. When the operating entity is a Houston LLC at the bottom of a six-layer chain controlled by KKR and Cornell Capital, the question of who is actually responsible — and what insurance is actually available — is not academic.
The ownership chain on this page is built entirely from public records.
Sources
- KDC/One Form S-1 Registration Statement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (CIK 1846055), filed 2021, withdrawn October 2021
- Cornell Capital LLC public fund disclosures (Cornell Capital Partners II LP)
- KDC/One corporate website and press releases (kdc-one.com)
- Federal docket: Garcia v. Bayport Laboratories, LLC et al., S.D. Tex. No. 4:25-cv-3676, Dkt. 13 (Defendants' Rule 7.1 Certificate of Interested Persons, filed September 17, 2025)
- Domain Protection, LLC v. Sea Wasp, LLC, 23 F.4th 529 (5th Cir. 2022)
- Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1 (as amended December 1, 2022)
- PitchBook (public profile data for KDC/One and listed investors)
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