Kkr acquires majority stake in coty professional beauty

It has been announced today that investment firm KKR have signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Coty Professional Beauty portfolio in a deal worth $4.3 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Coty will make Wella, which includes Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, and ghd brands, a standalone company in which KKR will acquire a 60 percent stake and Coty will retain the remaining 40 percent interest. Coty’s mass beauty business in Brazil will remain a fully owned business of Coty. Sylvie Moreau, president of Coty Professional Beauty, comments: “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.” Johannes Huth, partner and head of KKR EMEA, says: “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.”