The Beauty M&As to Watch for in 2020

A new decade means new beauty deals. And while the types of transactions may shift, investor appetite for beauty companies seems to be a constant. “I would not anticipate 2020 to be as robust, with that number of marquis independent brands getting sold,” said one financial source, referring to the 2019 sales of Elemis, Morphe, Drunk Elephant and Olaplex. This year, beauty M&A is expected to remain solid, industry sources said, with a lot of action around skin-care companies and contract manufacturing. “Private equity firms are looking to consolidate the contract manufacturer space right now,” said Andrew Shore, managing director at Moelis. “There are some tendencies of private equity to try to be the consolidator in this space,” agreed Muriel Petit, managing director at BNP Paribas. It’s a trend that continues from the past few years. Private equity groups have been attracted to manufacturing deals because they provide multiple potential growth levers, versus brand bets. In the past few years, private equity-backed KCD-One has made many acquisitions, a spree sources expect to continue through 2020, and in 2019, Bain Capital invested in Maesa, which makes private label products for places like Ulta, as well as the Kristin Ess Hair and Flower Beauty Brands. Mana is

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