Olaplex, the cult haircare brand that pioneered the bond-building market, filed for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to sell $100 million worth of stocks, a placeholder that will change when the terms are set. The company listed sales of $270 million in the six months ended June 2021, up from $100 million during the same period in 2020. It earned $95 million in the period, compared to losses of $22 million a year ago.

Olaplex remained staunchly committed to the professional channel during the pandemic but demand for Olaplex's products shifted to specialty retail and DTC the company said. "This shift enabled us to scale our DTC capability faster than expected," the company said in the filing. "Even as salons in our professional channel locations have reopened, we have not seen a decline in the demand for our products in our DTC channel, nor do we expect to," it said. The company also created an affiliate program last year so hairstylists would sell Olaplex products for at-home use, it said.

Bloomberg News reported in June Advent International, who acquired the business in 2019 for an undisclosed amount and appointed Jue Wong as CEO, was targeting a valuation of at least $1.5 billion for Olaplex.

Current investors will sell all shares in the IPO without the company receiving any of the proceeds. Advent will continue to control the company after the listing, according to the filing. Olaplex will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol OLPX. Underwriters include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley.