Purely Byron, the Australian skincare company founded by model and actor Elsa Pataky, entered into voluntary administration less than a year after its launch.
WHO: Founded in June 2022, Purely Byron is a skincare brand co-founded by model Elsa Pataky and Chief Executive Jacqueline Rosen Weisz, and Brand and Product Director Kate Norbiato. The brand's natural range set out to capture the native botanicals of Australia's New South Wales coastal town of Byron.
DETAILS:
- Cameron Gray and Justin Holzman of DW Advisory were appointed as administrators and will attempt to find a way forward for the company.
- Purely Byron’s business operations have been suspended while Gray and Holzman guide the business and its assets toward a sale.
- BWX brands own a 47.4% stake in the business, Pataky’s husband Chris Hemsworth’s Byron Bay 1st Management owns a 3.2% stake, and company directors Ido Leffler and Lance Kalish own slightly more than 22% each.
- While Pataky served as the face of the brand, the administrators said she was not officially involved in the brand’s corporate leadership.
- BWX, whose Australian operations also entered administration, acquired a 49% stake in the business in 2021, valued at $490,000, bringing the brand into its portfolio. A stock dilution lowered BWX’s equity to 47.4%. In February, a BWX investor presentation revealed a $2.8 million downgrade to the carrying value of the Purely Byron investment, mainly due to loans the BWX group issued to the company.
- Dr. Vivek Eranki, the CEO of Cosmetique, expressed interest in acquiring Purely Byron and is in discussion with administrators.
