Updated: All the Beauty M&A Deals of 2021
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Updated: Dec. 23
Beauty M&A deals have showed nearly no signs of slowing, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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Just a few weeks into 2021, there have already been multiple billion-dollar beauty M&A deals, including the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc.’s deal to acquire the rest of Deciem, parent company of The Ordinary, and Shiseido inking a deal to sell its personal care business to CVC Capital.
There have also been smaller deals, as venture capitalists continue to back beauty companies.
Here is a list of the beauty M&A transactions so far in 2021:
January
Paper Cosmetics, a direct-to-consumer natural and sustainable deodorant brand, closed a funding round. Terms were not disclosed.
SuperOrdinary received a minority investment from Alliance Consumer Growth. SuperOrdinary helps U.S. beauty brands expand into China, and has worked with The Ordinary, Olaplex, Drunk Elephant and other brands.
Coty Inc. closed on a minority investment in Kim Kardashian West’s beauty business, KKW Beauty. The $200 million investment gave Coty a 20 percent stake in the business.
Perfect Corp. raised a $50 million Series C round led by Goldman Sachs. Perfect Corp. develops artificial reality and artificial intelligence technology used in virtual try-on apps for the beauty industry.
Curlsmith, a brand that specializes in textured hair, raised a Series A led by BFG Partners.
Hero Cosmetics got a minority investment from Aria Growth Partners, a new private equity firm. Hero is best known for its Mighty Patch line of hydrocolloid acne patches, but has also branched into other skin care products.
Cathay Capital took a minority stake in Juliette Has a Gun, a French fragrance business.
Reckitt Benckiser acquired feminine care brand Queen V, which makes vaginal health products for women.
Amyris Inc., the biotechnology company behind Biossance, said it will acquire Terasana, a clean CBD brand.
Gemma Labs, a data-driven hair care business, raised $2.75 million from PSL Ventures and other individual investors.
Thirteen Lune raised $1 million from friends and family, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Naomi Watts and Gregg Renfrew of Beautycounter.
San Francisco Equity Partners acquired natural beauty manufacturer Smith & Vandiver Corp.
February
Dame Products, which makes vibrators, raised $4 million in seed funding for women-run venture firms.
CVC Capital signed a deal to buy Shiseido’s personal care brands, including Tsubaki, Senka, Uno and Sea Breeze. The brands are expected to be transferred into a joint venture run by CVC in July.
L’Oréal finalized the acquisition of Takami, a Japanese skin care brand.
Skin Inc Supplement Bar, a skin care line focused on customization, raised $7 million from Singapore-based investment fund Mistletoe.
WellBiz Brands Inc. acquired the franchise rights for Drybar’s salon business, which includes 141 Drybar salons.
Givaudan is buying Myrissi, an AI business that translates fragrances into color patterns and images.
CBD wellness brand Beam raised $5 million in Series A funding. The business was launched by former athletes Matt Lombardi and Kevin Moran and is focused on topicals for pain relief.
Art of Sport — founded by Matthais Metternich, Brian Lee and the late Kobe Bryant — secured $6 million in funding led by entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
The Estée Lauder Cos. said it would acquire the rest of Deciem, the parent company of The Ordinary. Lauder is increasing its 29 percent stake in the business to 76 percent, valuing Deciem at $2.2 billion, and in three years, Lauder plans to buy the rest of the company at a to-be-determined valuation.
Madison Reed, which specializes in clean, at-home hair color, has raised $52 million with plans to launch more products, open more Color Bars and ramp up technology.
111Skin, the high-end skin care line from London plastic surgeon Yannis Alexandrides, has received an investment from Vaultier7.
Inflection has invested in Pangaea Laboratories, the owner of Medik8 skin care.
March
Amyris said it plans to buy clean Costa Brazil, a clean skin care business. Founder Francisco Costa will join Amyris as chief creative officer.
Yatsen Holding, the parent company of Perfect Diary, has signed a deal to acquire Eve Lom from Manzanita Capital.
Fueguia 1833 has gotten a minority equity investment from Ilwaddi WLL. The plan is to accelerate distribution for the niche fragrance line, and to expand manufacturing abilities.
AS Beauty, the owner of Julep and Laura Geller, has acquired Mally Beauty, the beauty brand of celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal. Mally Beauty is sold on QVC, Amazon, Tmall and on its own website.
Curls, a hair care line for people with textured hair, has gotten a minority investment from Beauty By Imagination, which also owns WetBrush, Goody, Ouidad and Bio Ionic. Mahisha Dellinger, the founder of Curls, will remain Curls’ majority and controlling owner, and will continue to lead the brand. She will continue to focus on innovation and expand the company’s give-back programs, which focus on developing the next generation of Black female entrepreneurs. She will also join the BBI board. Under BBI, Curls plans to expand distribution.
Core Equity Holdings has taken a majority stake in Franck Provost’s hair care empire, Provalliance.
American Securities, a private equity firm, has agreed to acquire Conair, which owns the Cuisinart, Conair, Babyliss, Scunci and Waring brands. Members of the founding Rizzuto family will retain minority ownership.
Eco-friendly fragrance brand Maison J.U.S. has raised 600,000 euros from angel investors.
NewSpring Franchise, a lower middle market private equity fund, has invested in Blo Blow Dry Bar. Blo has more than 100 locations in North America.
Hub.cycle, which converts fruit and vegetable waste into raw materials for the personal care and industries has raised 1.5 million Euros.
Encore Consumer Capital has invested in Love Wellness, a women’s health and wellness companies that makes supplements and vitamins that was founded by reality television star Lauren Bosworth. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
L’Oréal has made a minority investment in environmental start-up Gjosa, which is focused on saving water. The two have worked together for years with an aim to optimize shampoo rinse technology in order to save water. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Sakara Life, which expects to reach $150 million in sales this year and is profitable, has raised a $15 million Series B from One Better Ventures, Silas Capital and existing investor Annox Capital. The business has also appointed John Replogle, former CEO of Seventh Generation and Burt’s Bees chairman of the board. He is tasked with helping to grow the company — which right now specializes in food — into a multi-category lifestyle business with beauty and personal care products.
A Cornell Capital-led investor group has acquired a nutrition and wellness R&D, manufacturing and marketing business called INW I Innovations in Nutrition + Wellness, which also owns U.K.-based nutritional supplement maker Bee Health. Cornell Capital plans to replicate the strategy it used to grow KDC-One, which has included several add-on acquisitions, to grow INW into a nutrition and wellness manufacturing powerhouse.
Harry’s has raised a $155 million Series E from Bain Capital and Macquarie Capital, following the termination of a planned deal with Edgewell. The new fundraise values Harry’s at $1.7 billion.
April
Bain Capital has acquired a majority stake in personal care brand Hand in Hand, a personal care company.
Men’s skin care brand Disco raised a $5 million seed round led by Midnight Venture Partners.
Mielle Organics inked a major investment deal — somewhere between $100 million and $1 billion — with Berkshire Partners, which made a minority investment in the business.
Famille C Venture, the private investment firm of the Courtin-Clarins family, has made a $9 million Series B investment in Pai Skincare.
General Atlantic invested $80 million for a minority stake in Vegamour, a hair care brand centered around hair growth.
The Carlyle Group bought a majority stake in Beautycounter that values the business at $1 billion. Founder and CEO Gregg Renfrew said the company plans to ramp up marketing and continue building out the omnichannel distribution strategy.
Nylah’s Naturals, which makes products for textured hair, has raised 50,000 pounds from Sara Davies after an appearance on BBC television show “Dragon’s Den.”
CurlMix parent company Listener Brands has raised more than $2.9 million through a crowdfunding campaign. The company’s goal is to raise $5 million.
Amyris has signed a deal to buy 70 percent of EcoFabulous Cosmetics, a Gen Z-focused beauty brand that was founded by The Balm founder Marissa Shipman.
Bloomeffects, a tulip-based skin care brand, has raised $2 million in seed funding.
Clean hair care brand Ceremonia has raised $2 million in seed funding in a round led by Silas Capital and Beliade.
Nestlé has entered an agreement with KKR and The Carlyle Group to acquire brands from The Bountiful Company for $5.75 billion. The brands include Nature’s Bounty, Solgar, Osteo-Bi-Flex and Puritan’s Pride.
May
L Catterton has invested in Indonesian beauty and e-commerce business Social Bella International, which does business as Sociolla. The site sells makeup, skin care, hair care, fragrance and beauty tools.
Cherry Pick AI has been acquired by 100.co, an artificial intelligence business. Cherry Pick’s platform analyzes images and consumer reviews, and using AI and data analysis, aims to determine beauty product needs and market fit before companies manufacture products.
Prestige body care brand Maëlys has received a minority investment of $30 million from Norwest.
Nestle Health Science has signed a deal to acquire Nuun, a functional hydration brand that makes electrolyte tablets.
TPG Growth has invested in Ideal Image, a provider of aesthetic services including Botox.
The Hut Group has acquired skin care and hair care product manufacturer Bentley Laboratories LLC for $255 million. Bentley manufactures Perricone, which THG bought in 2020.
Nexus Capital Management LP has invested in Sky Organics, an organic beauty and personal care brand that makes mass market products available at Amazon, CVS, Whole Foods and other retailers.
Firmenich has made a minority investment in Essential Labs LLC, a supplier to niche home fragrance companies. Firmenich said the deal would allow it to reach smaller businesses.
Prima, the CBD beauty and wellness brand launched by Christopher Gavigan, has closed a $9.2 million Seed round led by Greycroft, H Ventures, Defy and Lerer Hippeau with participation from Adam Zeplain, Global Founders Capital, Emerald Health, One Gun and Purple Arch Ventures. Prima will use the money for research and development and operational infrastructure.
Lauryn Bosstick’s The Skinny Confidential has raised $1 million in seed funding for its anti-inflammatory beauty brand, which currently sells a face oil and an ice roller.
Korean men’s grooming brand Cardon has raised a $2 million seed round from Bon Angels, Mirae Asset Venture Investments and Strong Ventures. The business aims to take K-grooming global, and will use the funds to scale product lines, enhance the customer experience and build the team.
Ever/Body has raised a $38 million Series B from Tiger Global Management, Addition, Fifth Wall, MetaProp and Gaingels. The cosmetic dermatology practice intends to open more locations, as well as launch a product line.
Incubator HatchBeauty Brands has acquired Trendalytics, a consumer analytics platform that aims to help partners make calculated buying decisions. Hatch said the deal will help its product pipeline.
Core Industrial has acquired beauty manufacturer Marianna Beauty Holdings LLC with plans to combine operations with Arizona Natural Resources.
Faculty has raised a $3 million seed round led by the Estée Lauder Cos. The brand aims to redefine masculinity, and makes nail lacquer and nail stickers.
June
Yellow Wood Partners has closed a deal to buy the rest of Scholl footcare, bringing the global Scholl and Dr. Scholl’s brands back together again after 30 years of separate ownership. The combined business has annual retail sales of more than $700 million. Yellow Wood’s Dana Schmaltz has said there are growth opportunities in Dr. Scholl’s foot care line and in continuing to build the brand’s e-commerce business.
General Atlantic has made a minority investment in Buff City Soap, a personal care and laundry soap business that specializes in handmade bar soaps. The business has 100 locations and the investment is meant to allow it to open more stores and accelerate e-commerce.
Athena Club, which sells personal care products online, has raised a $15 million Series A with goals of modernizing the consumer packaged goods industry and drugstore shopping.
Cornell Capital-backed Innovations in Nutrition + Wellness has acquired Capstone Nutrition, a manufacturer for health, functional food, immunity support, skin care and other products. Capstone specializes in capsules, tablets and powder products, and the deal is meant to advance INW’s position in the wellness manufacturing space.
Zenoti, which provides software to the spa, salon and fitness industries, has raised $80 million from TPG Capital with plans to build up its platform through further M&A. Zenoti is now valued at $1.5 billion.
Waldencast has taken a stake in Kjaer Weis.
General Atlantic and Huda Kattan have invested in spa software Fresha as part of a $100 million Series C round.
Iris&Romeo has raised capital from VC firm BrandProject with plans to develop additional hybrid beauty products. The brand makes Best Skin Days, a five-in-one hybrid makeup and skin care product, and saw 30 percent month-over-month growth through the pandemic.
Unilever has signed a deal to acquire Paula’s Choice, for a price tag that industry sources say is around $2 billion. Paula’s Choice was an early adopter of direct-to-consumer sales and ingredient transparency in beauty.
House of Wise, a CBD wellness brand, has raised $2 million.
Waeve, a Black-owned business that launched with ready-to-wear wigs, has raised $2 million in seed funding led by Pillar VC, with participation from Maveron, former Glossier COO Henry Davis, former Glossier CTO Bryan Majoney, Glossier CMO Ali Weiss, and Pillpack co-founders TJ Parker and Elliot Cohen.
Kindra, which sells vaginal lotion and different nutritional supplements geared towards women going through menopause, has raised a $4.5 million seed round led by Female Founder’s Fund. Primetime Partners, Anne and Susan Wojcicki, Katie Couric Media, The Community Fund and H Ventures also contributed. Kindra was incubated within P&G Ventures.
Former Coty CEO Camillo Pane’s brand incubator, Present Life, has agreed to sell CBD brand Healist to Kadenwood.
Sexual wellness brand Maude has raised $5.8 million Series A round.
Dae, the hair care brand from influencer Amber Fillerup Clark, has raised a $2.6 million seed round from Willow Growth.
July
Sexual wellness brand Cake has raised $4 million in seed funding led by Lerer Hippeau, with Sugar Capital, Brand Foundry Ventures, Selva Ventures, Silas Capital, Ollie co-founder Gabby Sloan, Starface co-founder Brian Bordainick and angel investor Kate Wallman.
Givaudan has bought a 25 percent stake in B.Kolormakeup & Skincare, with the option to acquire a controlling stake in the business after three years.
Loli Beauty has raised a seed round from Fable Investments, the venture fund of Natura & Co.
Oral beauty brand Spotlight has raised $15 million via a minority investment from Development Capital, an Irish growth fund.
Glossier has raised an $80 million Series E, led by Lone Pine Capital.
Telehealth provider Hims has acquired Apostrophe, which offers virtual dermatology appointments and prescriptions.
Revlon has sold off Gatineau, a professional skin care brand, to The Skincare Sanctuary, its U.K. distributor.
The Nue Co. has raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Pamoja Capital.
IEVA Group has acquired Boudoir du Regard, which had been undergoing restructuring.
Eurazeo Brands has made a $53 million minority investment in Pangaea Holdings, the parent company of men’s grooming lines Lumin and Meridian. The business in total raised $68 million. Other investors included Unilever Ventures, GPO Fund and existing investors Base10 Partners and Gradient Ventures.
Huda Beauty’s Huda Kattan has invested in Ketish, a sexual wellness brand, via HB Angels.
Givaudan has invested in Next Beauty China, an incubator for emerging fragrance brands.
August
Function of Beauty has acquired Atolla with plans to expand further into skin care.
The Hut Group has signed a deal to buy Cult Beauty for 275 million pounds.
Brandefy, an app that is meant to help consumers compare formulas, ingredients and prices of beauty products, has raised $1.7 million.
Il Makiage has acquired Voyage81, an artificial intelligence startup meant to help show a wider range of colors, for $40 million.
Advent International is buying BareMinerals, Laura Mercier and Buxom from Shiseido for $700 million.
Crown Laboratories has signed a deal to buy StriVectin, which has been backed by L Catterton since 2009.
September
JD.com and JIC are buying a minority stake in Lagargère Travel Retail Asia.
Essence Ventures has acquired BeautyCon out of foreclosure, and is bringing back original co-founder Marina Curry.
Beauty Pie Raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Index Ventures and Insight Partners.
Katherine Power’s Merit makeup brand has raised a $20 million Series A round led by L Catterton.
Puig has invested in Chinese fragrance brand Scent Library.
Live Tinted, the beauty brand founded by Deepica Mutyala, has raised a seed round of more than $3 million.
Sephora closed its deal to acquire FeelUnique.
NovaBay Pharmaceuticals has acquired DermaDoctor for $15 million. The buyer said the brand complement’s its CelleRX Clinical Reset line, which is also meant to be highly effective yet gentle on skin. The DermaDoctor team has joined NovaBay as part of the deal. NovaBay plans to introduce new products for the CelleRx, Avenova and DermaDoctor brands.
October
LVMH has purchased Officine Universelle Buly 1803, a prestige perfume brand.
Highlander Partners has acquired a majority stake in RMS Beauty, the clean makeup brand from makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift.
Knowlton Development Corp. is acquiring V Manufacturing and Logistics, which specializes in manufacturing small batches of beauty and personal care products.
Beaubble has raised another funding round, bringing the brand’s total to more than $2 million in funding. Bling Capital led the round, which also included investments from Graph Ventures, Goodwater Capital and YouTube’s former chief technology officer, Steve Chen.
Prime Matter Labs has acquired Cosmetic Development Laboratories to increase geographic coverage and production capacity, as it aims to become the go-to manufacturer for indie beauty and personal care brands.
Summit Partners has acquired a minority stake in Hairstory.
Blank-check company Better for You Wellness Inc. has signed a letter of intent to acquire Mary Louise Cosmetics, a natural beauty company founded by Akilah Releford. Releford will stay on board as the brand’s “chief visionary officer” and continue to drive product development, the companies said.
FemTec Health has acquired beauty subscription box Birchbox, as well as Mira, a digital beauty shopping tool and search engine.
November
Thirteen Lune has raised a $3 million seed round led by Fearless Fund as the business expands with J.C. Penney and looks to launch a private label beauty line.
Boost Lab Co, an Australian serum company, has raised a Series A round, bringing its total funding to more than A$5 million. Boost makes seven different serums and was founded by Craig Schweighoffer. The business is planning for an IPO in Australia in the second half of 2022, according to a spokesperson.
Gryphon Investors has acquired Revision Skincare and Goodier Cosmetics, with plans to continue developing the product line and building out the company’s contract manufacturing business. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Revision is a professional skin care line, while Goodier is a manufacturer for cosmetics and skin care.
NuSkin’s strategic investment arm, Rhyz Inc., has acquired Mavely, a social commerce platform, as it looks to build out its social shopping capabilities. Mavely’s platform includes 40,000 content creators who make money by posting about dtc and retail brands, as well as a social sales team that can help companies’ customers transition to influencers. As part of the deal, Mavely will continue to operate as a standalone company, but will be able to work with Nu Skin’s sales community, too. Nu Skin executives said Mavely’s technology will help its sales people “simplify and supercharge social selling.”
The Good Glamm Group has raised a $150 million Series D round, co-led by Warburg Pincus and Prosus Ventures. Alteria Capital and existing investors L’Occitane, Bessemer Venture Partners, Amazon, Ascent Capital and the Mankekar Family office also participated. The Good Glamm Group operates a portfolio of beauty and personal care brands that are promoted online via content and creators on the company’s various websites. The company’s brands include MyGlamm, a fast-growing cosmetics brand in India, MomsCo, a popular mom and baby brand in India, and Baby Chakra, a baby products brand. Good Glamm plans to use the capital to invest in product developments, increase offline expansion and expand content creation capabilities.
Beauty device manufacturer and seller CurrentBody has sold a majority stake in the business to Ecomplete for 50 million pounds. CurrentBody was founded by Laurence Newman and Andrew Showman in 2009, and now operates 17 international websites as well as a physical store within London’s House of Fraser. The business is set to reach 42.5 million pounds in sales for this year, and aims to reach 100 million pounds in the next two years. EComplete is an e-commerce investment business launched by the former head of beauty at The Hut Group, Paul Gedman, and wellness entrepreneur Andy Duckworth.
Skinfix has landed a minority investment from Stride Consumer Partners.
Pause Well-Aging is raising a $3 million seed round, led by Swiftarc Ventures.
Rare Beauty Brands has acquired Dr. Dana Beauty.
L’Occitane is acquiring Sol de Janeiro at a $450 million valuation. L’Occitane is buying 83 percent of the company, and founder and CEO Heela Yang is rolling over an ownership stake.
Givaudan has signed a deal to buy Custom Essence, a U.S.-based fragrance formulation business that specializes in natural fragrances. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Custom Essence’s business would have represented about $40 million in incremental sales for Givaudan in 2020, the company said.
Waldencast Acquisition Corp., the special purpose acquisition company related to private equity firm Waldencast, has agreed to buy Milk Makeup and Obagi, in a deal with a combined value of $1.2 billion. The transaction includes investors in Milk and Obagi taking stakes in Waldencast, as it aims to create a multi-brand beauty and wellness platform on the public markets. The business will be run by founder Michel Brousset as chief executive officer, and Hind Sebti as chief operating officer.
Procter & Gamble has signed a deal to acquire Farmacy Beauty.
SuperOrdinary has made a $25 million minority investment in Crea, which is meant to allow it to expand across Southeast Asia.
Coty has signed a licensing brand with Orveda, the luxury skin care line founded by Coty ceo Sue Nabi before she joined the company.
Holistic medicine and supplement business Apothékary has raised $3.5 million that it plans to use to scale at retail in the U.K. and Canada. The business said it projects “eight-figure revenue” for 2021, and is profitable.
Stratia has received a $2 million investment from Fable Investments, the venture capital branch of Natura & Co.
Beautigloo, a French company that manufactures beauty refrigerators, has raised 2.7 million euros.
Bright Lights Acquisitions Corp. has signed a deal to combine with men’s grooming company Manscaped. The deal values Manscaped at about $1 billion.
Galderma has signed a deal buy Alastin skin care. Alastin’s professional skin care products, and Galderma plans to grow and expand the brand.
Edgewell has acquired women’s grooming brand Billie for $310 million, in an effort to expand in the mid-tier price segment for razors. The deal comes after several failed grooming deals, including Edgewell’s previous attempt to buy Harry’s, and P&G’s previous attempt to buy Billie. Both transactions were blocked by the FTC. Billie’s cofounders, Geogrina Gooley and Jason Bravman, will continue leading the brand, which will expand into retail in 2022.
December
Sodalis has acquired Lornamead in Germany, and the Brisk, Rapid White and Tripe Dry brands in the U.K.
Multigenerational skin care brand Evereden has raised $32 million.
Procter & Gamble has entered the prestige hair care category by signing a deal to buy Jen Atkin’s Ouai.
Direct-to-consumer skin care brand Facetheory has raised 10 million pounds.
The Center has raised $15 million from Prelude Growth Partners.
L’Oréal is acquiring Youth to the People.
Universal Beauty Group has raised 6 million euros.
Harry’s has acquired Lume, which makes full body deodorizing products.
Eurazeo Brands has acquired a control stake in Beekman 1802, a microbiome-focused skin care line.
Inter Parfums has signed a 10-year fragrance licensing deal with Emanuel Ungaro.
Market research company Suzy Inc. has acquired beauty data company Poshly.
Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery has acquired Englert Dermatology, which operates Advanced Dermatology Bel Air, Advanced Dermatology Hunt Valley and Advanced Dermatology Towson. The practice includes standard dermatology treatments, as well as cosmetic offerings.
Blackstone has made a majority investment in SPF beauty company, Supergoop.
Beiersdorf has signed a deal to acquire Chantecaille at a valuation between $590 million and $690 million.
Skin care mist device company Droplette has raised $15 million.
For more from WWD.com, see:
The Latest From the Beauty M&A Scene
Should VCs Be Approaching Beauty Differently?
Mushrooms Are Becoming a Beauty and Wellness Ingredient Darling
Are Women Moving Up Beauty’s Corporate Ladder?
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