KKR to Acquire Majority Stake in Coty’s Professional Beauty & Retail Hair
KKR has signed an MoU to acquire a majority stake in Coty’s Professional Beauty and Retail Hair Businesses, at a contemplated enterprise value of $4.3 billion.
Coty Inc. announced the signing of an MOU with the global investment firm KKR, for the sale of a majority in Coty’s Professional Beauty and Retail Hair business, including Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, and ghd brands (together ‘Wella’).
Under the terms of the MOU, Coty will carve out ‘Wella’ and its portfolio of professional brands into a standalone company in which KKR will acquire a 60 per cent stake. Coty will retain the remaining 40 per cent interest. Coty’s mass beauty business in Brazil will remain a fully owned business of Coty.
The agreement is expected to be signed by the end of May. Coty acquired the Professional Beauty and Retail Hair brands in 2016 from Procter & Gamble.
Sylvie Moreau – President of Coty Professional Beauty, commented: “We are thrilled with this announcement. KKR is one of the world’s preeminent investment firms with an exemplary track record of value creation. As a market leader with one of the strongest portfolios of brands in the professional beauty market, we believe this partnership opens up a new set of opportunities for ‘Wella’, our people, and our brands.”
“This announcement represents a great milestone for our Wella India organization. We are confident this partnership will bring new opportunities. In the meantime, we remain fully committed to supporting our customers and our industry as it bounces back from the COVID-19 crisis,” says Manish Bhagat – Country Manager, Coty India.
KKR is a pioneer of the global private equity model, with over 43 years of investment experience. The firm has a long track record of investing in branded consumer businesses, including the beauty sector. Its portfolio includes 109 companies with over $157 billion in annual revenues and employing over 637,500 people.
Johannes Huth – Partner and Head of KKR EMEA, said, “We are excited to form this partnership to invest in Coty to support it through this period of unprecedented global uncertainty and allow it to emerge as a stronger, more agile business, and to acquire a majority stake in Wella, a market leader with a strong portfolio of brands in the attractive professional hair market where we see significant opportunities to accelerate growth in partnership with its experienced leadership team. We look forward to working towards the establishment of a lasting and value-creating strategic partnership.”