New York, NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 – Counter Brands, LLC, parent company of Beautycounter, the leader in clean beauty, and global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that Carlyle has acquired a majority stake in Beautycounter. The partnership will allow Beautycounter to accelerate its strategic initiatives, including increasing brand awareness as well as bolstering the company’s innovative, integrated, omni-channel business model. The transaction values the company at $1 billion.
Beautycounter is a mission driven, digitally native, clean beauty brand that has continued to lead and define the future of the global beauty industry since its launch in 2013. The company’s efforts have led the way for ingredient innovation and transparency, having introduced The Never List™ to ensure 1,800 questionable or potentially harmful ingredients are never used in its product formulations as part of its Blueprint for Clean; achieved clinically-proven product efficacy, creating award-winning makeup and skincare driving consumer loyalty; and prioritized advocacy, passing nine pieces of legislation to advance personal care product safety in the United States. This consumer-first combination is what Beautycounter strives to consistently deliver for its community and is what sets it apart as a leader in the beauty industry.
“In 2013, I launched Beautycounter with the simple mission to get safer products into the hands of everyone,” said Beautycounter Founder and CEO Gregg Renfrew. “Today marks an exciting and important milestone for our company and I am so proud to partner with Carlyle as we continue to work toward achieving that mission. I have long admired Jay and the team at Carlyle for their experience working with brands at the intersection of cultural relevance and consumer demand and believe that our combined vision will be instrumental in accelerating Beautycounter as the leader in clean beauty, and in the beauty industry as a whole.”
“We are so excited to partner with Gregg and her outstanding executive team to support Beautycounter’s movement to bring safer products to consumers,” said Jay Sammons, Head of Global Consumer, Media & Retail, The Carlyle Group. “Beautycounter is a pioneer and leader in the fast-growing clean beauty industry, and we see an opportunity to support a talented, founder-led team in amplifying the brand’s mission to change beauty forever.”
The investment in Beautycounter builds on Carlyle’s long-term focus on partnering with founder-led brands focused on growth. Equity capital for the investment came from Carlyle Partners VII, an $18.5 billion fund that makes majority and strategic minority investments primarily in the U.S. in targeted industries, including Consumer, Media & Retail.
Evercore acted as lead financial advisor, and Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor to Beautycounter, and Latham & Watkins served as legal counsel. Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal counsel to Carlyle. Mousse Partners also participated in this round of financing, having previously invested in the company in 2018.
About Beautycounter
Founded by Gregg Renfrew in 2011 and launched in 2013, Beautycounter is the leader in clean skincare and cosmetics whose mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone. The Santa Monica, CA-based brand leads the way for improved transparency and accountability in the beauty industry, including advocacy efforts that update federal regulations that have stood largely unchanged since 1938.
Beautycounter is an omni-channel brand and is available today online, in physical retail stores, through strategic partnerships, and through its community of more than 65,000 independent sellers across North America.
Beautycounter offers more than 100 products that have earned numerous awards, including Fast Company’s Most Innovative, Allure’s Best of Beauty, Glamour’s Beauty Awards, Refinery29’s Innovators List, WWD’s 2019 Best-Performing Beauty Company, and CNBC’s Disruptor 50. For more information, visit www.beautycounter.com, follow on Instagram @beautycounter, Twitter @beautycounterhq, Facebook @beautycounterhq, and YouTube @beautycounter.
About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $246 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2020, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs 1,825 people in 29 offices across five continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.
Media Contacts
Brittany Berliner
+1 (212) 813-4839
brittany.berliner@carlyle.com
Meaghan Curcio
+1 (917) 353-3001
meaghan.curcio@beautycounter.com