Beauty M&A in 2023 is already off to a hot start.
A flurry of deals kickstarted the year despite concerns the U.S. could tip into recession. Procter & Gamble signed a deal to acquire Mielle, a Black-founded textured hair care brand, for an undisclosed sum, while L’Oréal’s venture capital fund BOLD has been active, making minority investments in French metaverse developer Digital Village and temporary tattoo-maker Prinker Korea Inc.
Here is a list of all the beauty acquisitions and investments so far in 2023:
April
Henkel AG has finalized the sale of its business activities in Russia to a consortium of local financial investors for 54 billion rubles, or $689.6 million. The German maker of Schwarzkopf, Dial and Diadermine products had announced on April 20 its signing of an agreement to sell that activity, following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Henry Rose, the genderless fine fragrance brand founded by Michelle Pfeiffer, has gained a Series A investment led by Sandbridge Capital, its first external investment since its launch in 2019. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Oprah Winfrey has invested an undisclosed amount in Dr. Barbara Sturm’s skin care brand.
Oddity, the parent company of Il Makiage and Spoiled Child, has acquired Boston-based biotechnology startup Revela for $76 million. With the acquisition and an additional $25 million investment, the company will establish Oddity Labs in Boston.
Ceremonia, the Latinx clean hair care brand launched in 2020, has raised $10 million to support its recent expansion to more than 500 Sephora stores with a series A investment round led by Sandbridge Capital.
L Catterton is betting once again on the founders of Tula Skincare. The private equity firm has just made a “significant” growth investment in color cosmetics brand Dibs Beauty, launched in September 2021 by Tula Skincare founders Ken Landis (who also cofounded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics) and Dan Reich, with Austin, Texas-based influencer Courtney Shields and former chief operating officer of A-Rod Corp Jeff Lee. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Famille C Participations, the Courtin family’s holding company, has taken a majority stake in Pai Skincare to help step up the brand’s growth and turn it into selective distribution’s clean skin care leader.
Abeo, the digital beauty sampling platform, has a new owner. The company, which launched in 2020 as a part of Arcade Beauty, has been acquired by Sampler, which provides users with free, personalized samples across categories like food and beauty. The acquisition marks a push in the latter category.
Pierre Fabre announced it had acquired Même, a dermocosmetics line formulated specifically for women with sensitive skin due to cancer treatments.
L’Oréal invested in DSG Consumer Partners IV, the fourth fund of Singapore-based venture capital DSGCP, focused on growing early-stage consumer brand startups across Southeast Asia and India
L’Oréal has signed an agreement to acquire Aesop, the Australian luxury personal care company, from Natura & Co. The proposed transaction values Aesop at an enterprise value of more than $2.5 billion.
TrueNose, a medical aesthetics brand that specializes in non-surgical nose jobs, has been acquired by Aesthetic Holdings, a Denver-based medical aesthetics company with multiple medspa subsidiaries.
March
New Incubation Ventures, the early-stage, strategic investing and incubation arm of The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., has taken a minority stake in Vyrao, the British fragrance brand that promises far more than pleasing scents.
Matter of Fact has closed its second round of funding, to the tune of $6 million. The brand, founded by Paul Baek in 2021, closed a round of additional funding with participation from Horizon Ventures and Cowboy Ventures, in addition to James and Nicky Hilton Rothschild, as well as Birchbox cofounder Hayley Barna. That brings Matter of Fact’s total funding to $16 million. The company raised $10 million in seed funding in 2021.
Natural skin care brand True Botanicals has gained a series B investment from San Francisco-based growth equity firm NextWorld Evergreen. Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, WWD last year reported that True Botanicals had tapped investment bank Moelis & Company to evaluate deal options, with sources noting at the time that the brand was projecting sales of around $50 million for 2022.
L’Oréal has invested in the Geno-led initiative centered on developing, producing and commercializing biotechnology-based alternatives to key beauty product ingredients. L’Oréal, which made its investment through BOLD, the group’s corporate venture fund, did not disclose terms of the investment.
Robertet Group has acquired Aroma Esencial, a Spanish company that specializes in processing natural aroma-related products, such as vetiver, patchouli, cedar and ylang-ylang.
February
Live Tinted has closed a Series A fundraising round of $10 million led by Monogram Capital Partners. Other investors are Unilever Ventures, Devonshire Partners and Silas Capital. The beauty brand has secured $15 million to date.
The Beauty Health Company, owner of Hydrafacial, has agreed to acquire SkinStylus, an FDA-cleared microneedling device. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Beauty Health said that upon successful integration of SkinStylus into its portfolio, the company expects upside from the acquisition in 2024 and beyond.
Givaudan, the world’s largest fragrance and flavors supplier, is acquiring certain cosmetic ingredients from California-based biotechnology player Amyris, including its sugarcane-derived squalane, a sustainable alternative to that found in deep-sea shark livers. Amyris will continue to manufacture ingredients for Givaudan to use in cosmetics. Givaudan will become the commercialization partner for future sustainable beauty ingredients.
Sustainable beauty brand Caliray has raised a Series A round. The California-based brand launched in 2021 by Urban Decay founder Wende Zomnir has received new financing led by True Beauty Ventures, the early stage beauty and wellness focused investment fund run by Rich Gersten and Cristina Nuñez.
IFF has entered into an agreement to sell its Flavor Specialty Ingredients (FSI) business to UK-based private equity firm Exponent for $220 million in cash proceeds. FSI reports through IFF’s Scent division and is a manufacturer of synthetic and natural base aroma chemicals used in the flavor market. Cash proceeds from the transaction, net of taxes and expenses, will be used to reduce outstanding debt, IFF said.
Unilever has sold the Suave business in North America to Yellow Wood Partners, a private equity firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Outside of the U.S. and Canada, Unilever will maintain ownership of the brand.
Miley Cyrus has invested in self-tanning brand Dolce Glow, partnering with founder Isabel Vita.
Symrise took a minority interest in Synergio, an Israeli biotech company that specializes in the development of natural and sustainable solutions to be used in advanced plant-based technology destined for consumer goods products. Symrise did not give financial terms of the deal, but said it has the possibility to acquire a majority stake of Synergio’s share capital in the future.
January
Australian scalp care brand Straand secured $2 million pre-seed investment from Unilever Ventures.
Makeup by Mario received a $40 million minority growth investment from Provenance, a consumer-focused private investment firm, and Silas Capital, an emerging growth equity and venture capital firm.
Thirteen Lune, the inclusive beauty platform founded by Nyakio Grieco and Patrick Herning, raised $8 million in a seed plus investment round, with new participation from The BrainTrust Fund.
AS Beauty, a joint venture between Alan and Joey Shamah, the founders of E.l.f. Beauty, and the Azrak family, who previously ran and sold a pajama business, has added the skin-focused, spa-inspired Bliss World brand to its roster as it looks to diversify its portfolio into skin care. Its current brand lineup consists of Laura Geller Beauty, Julep Beauty, Mally Beauty and Cover FX. It was previously owned by L Catterton.
Glamsquad, the digital platform that allows users to connect with beauty professionals like hairstylists, makeup artists and nail technicians, received a minority investment from Boathouse Capital.
Coty Inc. and Jil Sander renewed their licensing agreement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Coty in a statement called it a “long-running partnership between the two companies.”
German fragrance and flavors supplier Symrise took part in a Series A funding round of Ignite Venture Studios, which creates and invests in start-up ventures linked to beauty, health and wellness. It is based in the U.S. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
P&G Beauty has acquired Mielle Organics, a Black-founded textured hair care brand, for an undisclosed sum, with the founders stressing that the deal will increase availability of products, and that there are no plans to change formulas.
American packaging manufacturer GPA Global acquired Cosfibel Group, a France-based maker of luxury promotional packaging, luxury gifting and merchandising solutions. Financial terms of the deal, which gives GPA a strong European footprint, were not disclosed.
L’Oréal took a minority stake in temporary tattoo-maker Prinker Korea Inc. through its corporate venture fund BOLD.
Glowbar, known for its 30-minute, $65 facial, has received a $10 million Series A funding. The round was led by Peterson Partners, a Salt Lake City-based firm whose investments have included Allbirds, Solidcore, Bonobos, Rails Clothing and Madison Reed.
L’Oréal’s venture capital fund BOLD and the British Fashion Council were among participants in a $4 million funding round for French metaverse developer Digital Village.