Forma Brands Emerges From Bankruptcy With Former Outdoor Voices CEO Leading Company
Forma Brands, the parent company of Morphe and Lipstick Queen, among others, has been acquired by lenders from bankruptcy.
In addition to Jefferies Finance LLC, funds managed by Cerberus Capital Management LP, and FB Intermediate Holdings LLC, the company’s new owners now also include &vest, a consumer brand investment and operational platform.
More from WWD
Thomas Brady, president of Jefferies Finance, said, “On behalf of the entire investor group, we are pleased to complete the acquisition of Forma Brands, enabling the company to move forward in a position of financial strength. With a new capital structure that includes additional liquidity and less debt, Forma Brands is poised to return to growth and increase profitability while it continues providing consumers around the globe with thoughtfully selected beauty products.”
As part of the transaction, Cliff Moskowitz, an operating partner at &vest, has joined Forma Brands as chief executive officer. He previously served as the CEO of Outdoor Voices.
Moskowitz said, “All of us at &vest are excited about this new partnership, and we look forward to helping to return Forma Brands to growth. We see compelling opportunities to drive growth in the business, including new products, geographies and channel and distribution partners — all of which we are going to pursue.”
Forma was formed in 2020 as part of the business’ diversification efforts. Prior to that, General Atlantic had acquired a 60 percent stake in Morphe in 2019, which was at the time a popular brand run by brother and sister Chris and Linda Tawil that grew in large part due to partnerships with influencers. At the time of the deal Morphe was said to be doing about $500 million in net sales, with about $130 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and the deal valued the company at $2.2 billion.
But then several factors occurred that weighed on Morphe’s performance. First, COVID-19 struck, leading color cosmetics sales to decline industrywide. Then Morphe cut ties with Jeffree Star and James Charles amid allegations of inappropriate behavior. Plus, supply chain issues plagued the business.
As part of diversification efforts, the business launched a sub-brand, Morphe 2, and made several acquisitions, including Lipstick Queen and Playa, and incubated brands, including Bad Habit. Last March, former Too Faced executive Eric Hohl joined Forma as CEO, taking over from Myles McCormick, who led the business through its growth era. Hohl was president at Too Faced when General Atlantic sold it to the Estée Lauder Cos. for $1.45 billion in 2016. But all these measures were not enough to prevent it from filing for bankruptcy.
Best of WWD
