Will Wella Company go public?
According to a Reuters report, Wella’s parent, the investment firm KKR, is readying the maker of Clairol, OPI and Ghd products to float in the U.S. as early as this year. It would value the company at much more than the $4.3 billion KKR paid for it, Reuters said, citing sources familiar with the operation.
A KKR spokesperson had no comment on Wednesday on the report.
As previously reported, in mid-December 2025, Coty Inc. sold its remaining 25.8 percent stake in the hair care giant to KKR.
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In July 2023, Coty had revealed it agreed to sell a 3.6 percent stake in Wella, equivalent to $150 million, to investment firm IGF Wealth Management with the cash proceeds to be used to pay down debt. Coty reiterated at the time a commitment to divest its remaining 22.3 percent stake in Wella by 2025.
Coty intially sold its professional division, including Wella, OPI, Briogeo and Clairol, to KKR on Nov. 30, 2020. The $2.5 billion transaction gave the private equity firm 60 percent control over a joint venture. Coty then owned the other 40 percent, which at the time was valued at $1.3 billion.
Then in October 2021, Coty said it was selling about 9 percent of its stake in Wella to KKR in exchange for almost half of the U.S. cosmetics group’s share that the private equity firm owned in a transaction valued at about $426.5 million.
Wella Company ranked 21st in the most recent edition of the WWD Beauty Inc Top 100, which reflects group’s sales for 2024. Wella that year generated estimated sales of $2.26 billion, up 3.3 percent versus 2023.
There are many benefits to going public: Early investors get a potentially lucrative exit and companies get a higher profile, brand exposure and a new source of capital — their own stock — that they can use to compensate executives and make acquisitions. Beauty companies and their chief executive officers can become players, not just in their niche world, but in the broader landscape of consumer-focused firms.
On the flip side, IPOs also shine an unforgiving spotlight on companies, with analysts and investors always wanting more, from faster growth to sweeter margins to continual newness in product and marketing.
Past beauty IPOs in the U.S. have had varying degrees of success. In the case of Oddity, parent company of SpoiledChild and Il Makiage, shares in the company closed up 35 percent, or $12.53, to $47.54, valuing the company at about $2.7 billion on its first day of trading in July. Now, shares are around trading around $30.91.
Elsewhere, cult hair brand Olaplex soared in its 2021 IPO at more than $24 per share, valuing the company at north of $15 billion. But since then, it has faced hurdles including a lawsuit and increased competition and the market capitalization is now just north of $1 billion.
Other listings over the past couple of years include European Wax Center, Jessica Alba’s The Honest Co. and Waldencast Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company whose prize assets are Milk Makeup and Obagi Skin Care. Honest’s share price was down around 85 percent since its public debut, European Wax Center was down 77 percent and Waldencast 81 percent.