Welcome to The Beauty Ledger, where gloss meets spreadsheets. Every month, I’ll bring you a sharp — and slightly sparkly — take on what’s moving in the global beauty business: from M&A deals to VC rounds, IPOs, earnings, and everything in between.
Why this Linkedin newsletter? After years of covering private capital and financial markets for BeBeez, even finance nerds need a hobby — and mine happens to smell like luxury serums and come with 12-digit valuations. The Beauty Ledger is my way of keeping tabs on how beauty meets business, because there’s real money behind the mascara.
So let’s track the value behind gloss and glamour. Every month (but who knows? Maybe more often) — with a pink touch.
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🔝 Top Beauty Finance Headlines
L’Oréal keeps flexing in Europe.
L’Oréal is still playing global beauty chess — this time with a laser focus on Germany’s expanding market, where demand for premium skincare and color cosmetics is outpacing the rest of the economy. After recent big buys (hello Kering beauty assets 🛍️), the French giant appears ready to double‑down on growth opportunities from Berlin to Bavaria.
📎 Full story: 🔗 https://www.reuters.com/business/loreal-eyes-further-growth-germany-2026-01-21/
💋 Red Lipstick Deals of the Month
Eurazeo exits Ex Nihilo with a sweet minority sale to L Catterton
Here’s a true fragrance finance moment: Eurazeo has entered into an exclusive agreement to sell its minority stake in Parisian haute perfumery brand Ex Nihilo to global consumer‑focused private equity firm L Catterton — with the brand’s founders and management expected to reinvest alongside their new partner.
Founded in 2013 by Sylvie Loday, Olivier Royère and Benoît Verdier, Ex Nihilo has built cult status with iconic scents like Fleur Narcotique and Blue Talisman and an innovative approach to personalization. Under Eurazeo’s support over the past two years, the brand accelerated international expansion and scaled its leadership team. Now, the transition to L Catterton — anticipated to close in Q1 2026 — marks both a successful exit and a strategic leap for the fragrance house. Some whispers suggest this deal could deliver a >2.5× return on Eurazeo’s initial investment, underscoring how targeted backing plus brand‑centric growth can pay off in beauty.
🔗 Official press release: https://en.newsroom.eurazeo.com/news/eurazeo-enters-into-an-exclusive-agreement-with-l-catterton-for-the-sale-of-its-minority-stake-in-ex-nihilo-afef0-52e2c.html
A Made in Italy beauty platform was born
I know it’s December news, but I couldn’t skip this one — it’s Italian, it’s strategic, and hey, I’m Italian too 🇮🇹. In late 2025 Orienta Capital Partners, Armònia sgr and Square Capital Club (a Deutsche Bank‑backed club deal) teamed up to create New TrendUp, a beauty platform tailored to Made in Italy cosmetics and fragrances integrating Milan‑based Trendcolor with InUnUp (make‑up contract manufacturing) and New Cosmesy (premium fragrances).
The industrial logic? Build a vertical, end‑to‑end platform on a classic Italian cosmetics value chain — from formulation to production and logistics — with projected 2025 revenues north of €60 million and an organisation of 200+ employees. All founders and investors are reinvesting in the new structure, signalling commitment to long‑term scale and international growth.
💅 Rumors & Leaks
FineToday’s Future: Bain’s Move or Bust?
Rumor has it Bain Capital just made a binding offer for FineToday Holdings, the Japanese personal care player known for high-street heroes like Tsubaki shampoo. The twist? They’re reportedly the last bidder standing — with KKR and Blackstone bowing out of the race, per Bloomberg sources.
FineToday, once part of Shiseido and backed by CVC since 2021, operates in 11 Asian markets — including China, its second biggest after Japan. After two failed IPO attempts and valuation haircuts (from ¥219B to ¥169B), the company is now in play, looking for a new strategic future via private equity.
But here’s the tea: Chinese shoppers are shifting toward local brands, geopolitical tensions are rising, and Bain’s offer isn’t yet a done deal. Still, with Japan posting a record $350B in deal volume in 2025, this could be another jewel in Bain’s East Asian crown.
🔗 No official press release yet — but we’re watching.
Beauty Bay explores sale or new investment
Manchester‑based online retailer Beauty Bay, which stocks over 200 beauty brands including MAC and Laneige, has appointed advisers from Interpath to conduct a strategic review. The process could lead to either a full sale or minority investment as the business navigates inflationary pressures and softening consumer demand.
📎 Full story: https://theindustry.beauty/beauty-bay-hires-advisers-to-explore-sale/
🖤 Gloss Gone Dim
Pat McGrath Labs files for Chapter 11
The iconic luxury makeup brand Pat McGrath Labs, founded by Dame Pat McGrath, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. and postponed a planned asset sale as part of a financial restructuring process. The brand, once valued at over $1 billion (following a Eurazeo investment of $60M in 2018), will continue operating during reorganisation under bankruptcy protection.
📎 Full story: https://www.allure.com/story/pat-mcgrath-labs-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy
Cover FX & Mally Beauty closures signal consolidation
Legacy brands Cover FX and Mally Beauty are being shut down by AS Beauty due to rising costs, tariffs and market shifts that made them financially unsustainable. Both will continue selling remaining stock through channels like Amazon, but the move reflects an industry trend of portfolio pruning and focus on high‑growth assets
📎 Full story: https://www.personalcareinsights.com/news/as-beauty-closes-coverfx-mally.html
Shiseido’s Tough Turnaround After a Costly Stumble
Japan’s iconic beauty house Shiseido is facing one of the toughest chapters in its 150+‑year history after a pricey misfire in the U.S. and growing competition from nimble Asian rivals dented its momentum. Bloomberg reports that Shiseido had to write off more than half of its $845 million investment in American skincare brand Drunk Elephant — an acquisition once meant to fast‑track access to younger consumers — due to sharply declining sales and eroded profitability.
The company, once seen as a serious challenger to L’Oréal and Estée Lauder, has watched market share slip as Korean and Chinese brands — led by names like Amorepacific and Kolmar Korea — gain traction in key markets like the U.S. Shiseido’s stock languishes at about one‑third of its pre‑pandemic peak, and investors are unimpressed with the pace of recovery.
🔗 Official press release check: At the time of writing, Shiseido has not issued a dedicated press release specifically addressing the Bloomberg turnaround story or a discrete investor communication on the Drunk Elephant write‑off. However, the company’s Q3 2025 financial report and medium‑term strategy documents (Nov. 10, 2025) outline its broader transformation plan — including impairments, restructuring, and brand focus strategies — which align with the themes reported.
📊 Market signals
Deals that shaped beauty in 2025 — a quick retrospective
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that the beauty sector isn’t just about products — it’s about strategic moves. The year closed with a flurry of headline‑grabbing M&A that reshaped portfolios and created new category leaders. From Ulta Beauty’s acquisition of Space NK (rumoured north of £300 million) to E.l.f. Beauty’s $1 billion purchase of Rhode (complete with Hailey Bieber stepping into an executive role), brands big and small found new homes and new growth pathways. Heavyweights like L’Oréal expanded prestige offerings with Medik8 and Color Wow, while legacy portfolios were streamlined — think Unilever’s sale of Kate Somerville and strategic add‑ons like Wild and Dr. Squatch. Even category rescues (such as the acquisition of Bodycare assets) punctuated the narrative of deal‑making as growth engine. All in all, 2025 reaffirmed that beauty is dynamic — and that hands‑on capital deployment, whether strategic or financial, continues to turn heads and valuations alike.
📎 Full context: https://theindustry.beauty/in-review-2025-the-major-ma-deals-in-beauty/
Beauty M&A is set to glow up in 2026
Despite inflationary headwinds and cautious consumer spending, beauty remains recession-resistant — and dealmakers are taking notes. The sector saw only a mild dip in M&A activity (-6.7% YoY), proving more resilient than the broader consumer space. Why? Consumers are trading down in price but not in performance: the masstige and mass markets are booming, with savvy buyers craving efficacy without the prestige markup.
That shift is driving M&A as brands reformulate, reposition, and reprice to stay relevant — and attractive. Private strategics are leading the charge, while public players like L’Oréal are reshuffling portfolios with bold acquisitions (think Creed, Medik8, ColorWow). PE funds are still circling, eyeing high-growth, clean beauty platforms with founder flair.
Valuations? Still glowing. Beauty deals in 2025 averaged a 14.9x EV/EBITDA, over 5 turns higher than the consumer average. Skincare and fragrance brands, especially those backed by science and storytelling, continue to command premium prices.
Bottom line: as value-conscious consumers demand more from less, M&A in beauty is shaping up to be more about brains than buzzwords — but the sparkle’s still there.
📎 Full context: https://www.capstonepartners.com/insights/article-beauty-ma-update/
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