Henkel Acquires Majority Stake in D-to-C Beauty Business
PARIS — Henkel has agreed to purchase a 75 percent stake in Invincible Brands Holding, a direct-to-consumer business with three beauty brands, from private equity fund Capital D.
Financial terms of the deal, which involves the Hello Body, Banana Beauty and Mermaid+Me brands, were not disclosed.
“Through this transaction, Henkel will significantly expand its d-to-c, go-to-market footprint in Beauty Care and add strong digital capabilities in areas such as performance marketing, analytics and fast innovation,” the German chemical and consumer goods company said in a statement on Friday.
The three brands being acquired primarily have a footprint in Europe and are positioned in the increasingly popular category of sustainable and clean beauty.
Hello Body trades in the skin-, body- and hair-care categories, while Mermaid+Me is based on hair-care products. Banana Beauty markets decorative cosmetics, such as eyeliners and lipsticks.
In the 12 months ended June 30, the businesses combined generated sales of approximately 100 million euros and employed about 180 people, including an incubator team that’s experienced in introducing new d-to-c brands.
The trio of brands counts more than 1.5 million active consumers and is meant to strengthen Henkel Beauty Care’s digital footprint.
A 25 percent stake in the business remains with Bjoern Keune and Gennadi Tschernow, the founders of Invincible Brands, and private equity fund Capital D. The founders and existing management team are to stay to keep expanding the existing business and establish new activity.
“As part of our strategic framework for purposeful growth, we pursue value-adding acquisitions to strengthen our business,” said Carsten Knobel, chief executive officer of Henkel, who noted the acquisition is in line with the group’s objective to strengthen its competitive edge in the realm of digitalization by broadening its d-to-c activities.
“With this acquisition we will strengthen our portfolio with fast-growing premium brands in attractive categories,” said Jens-Martin Schwärzler, executive vice president in charge of Henkel’s Beauty Care business.
“Two years ago, we identified the disruptive nature and strength of the business model of Invincible Brands, a pioneer in social media marketing and first-class brand incubator,” said Stephan Lobmeyr, cofounder of Capital D.
Düsseldorf, Germany-based Henkel is the world’s 15th-largest beautymaker, with estimated beauty sales of 3.68 billion euros in 2019, according to the WWD Beauty Inc Top 100 ranking.
The group’s retail brands include Schwarzkopf, Syoss, Dial and Fa, while its professional brands are comprised of Igora, BC Bonacure, Osis and Joico, among others.
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