All the Beauty M&A, Fundraising Deals of 2021 [Updated] – WWD

Updated: June 8

Beauty M&A deals have showed nearly no signs of slowing, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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.

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