Beauty M&A has been on fire for years, and 2019 was no exception. Skin care was undoubtedly the hottest category of the year, with several brands generating big-time valuations. Below is a round up of the 10 most important beauty M&A deals of 2019.
-
Shiseido Acquired Drunk Elephant
Image Credit: Courtesy Photos Even before it officially came to market, everyone was asking who was going to buy Drunk Elephant. After a strategic-buyers-only M&A process, the brand wound up selling to Shiseido for $845 million, helping its new parent company built out skin care and bolster growth outside of Japan.
-
Unilever Bought Tatcha
Image Credit: miki chishaki Unilever spent close to $500 million to take over geisha-inspired skin care brand Tatcha in 2019, adding the business to its prestige beauty group, which also includes Kate Sommerville, Murad, Dermalogica and Hourglass. The deal underscored strategic appetite for fast-growing skin care brands.
-
Estée Lauder Took Over Dr Jart+
Image Credit: Courtesy After buying a minority stake in Dr Jart+ parent company Have & Be Co. back in 2015, the Estée Lauder Cos. took over the rest of the company in late 2019 for about $1.1 billion, valuing the business at about $1.7 billion. The deal marked Lauder’s first official acquisition in Asia.
-
Coty Bought a Majority Stake in Kylie Cosmetics
Image Credit: BroadImage/Shutterstock After WWD reported in June that Coty Inc. was in talks to buy a 51 percent stake in Kylie Cosmetics for $600 million, it happened — in November. The deal made Coty the first major strategic beauty company to buy, literally, into the influencer life.
-
Colgate Purchased Filorga
Colgate, a relative newcomer to the beauty M&A game, proved it was seriously into skin care when it paid 1.5 billion Euros in July to take over Filorga. The deal follows Colgate’s 2017 acquisitions of PCA Skin and Elta MD.
-
L’Occitane Acquired Elemis
Image Credit: Courtesy L’Occitane made its largest acquistion since going public with its $900 million purchase of Elemis in 2019. The brand has been working to establish itself in new channels and geographies, co-founder Noelle Gabriel told attendees of WWD’s Beautyvest in November.
-
General Atlantic Took a Majority Stake in Morphe
Image Credit: Courtesy The private equity firm responsible for flipping Too Faced to Estée Lauder for about $1 billion more than it paid in 18 months made a big new bet on Morphe, the brand best known for its close influencer ties with the likes of James Charles and Jeffree Star. With a shiny new $2.2 billion valuation, Morphe will look to buy and incubate other brands going forward.
-
IFF’s Planned Merger with DuPont’s Nutrition and Biosciences Business
Image Credit: Shutterstock International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. inked a deal in late December to merge with DuPont’s Nutrition and Biosciences business — a deal valued at more than $26 billion. If the deal closes, which is slated for the first quarter of 2021, the combined business will be able to provide a full spectrum of ingredient services to the beauty and wellness industries.
-
Advent International Acquired Olaplex
Image Credit: Courtesy Advent International bought Olaplex at a valuation said to be around $1 billion. The deal is meant to help the brand, which pioneered the bond-building hair category, introduce new products and broaden distribution and geographic reach.
-
Natura Cosméticos SA Acquired Avon Products Inc.
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Natura agreed to the transformative takeover of ailing Avon Products in a deal expected to close in early 2020. The transaction helps Brazil-based Natura further branch out of its home country, and is expected to make it the fourth-largest pure-play beauty company in the world.