The beauty industry has some iconic institutions, and the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis is one of them—but don’t worry, it’s not being sold to a developer. It’s going to good hands and will continue to operate as the flagship beauty school. Louisiana-based Beauty Basics Inc., a subsidiary of Aveda distributor Neill Corp, is in final negotiations to be the next owner of the last two Aveda-owned Institutes—the iconic Minneapolis location as well as the one in Soho.

Neill Corp. has been part of the Aveda family since the early days when Austrian-born hair stylist Horst Rechelbacher founded the brand in 1978. They currently own 15 of the 64 Aveda-branded beauty schools mainly located in the southern US. and run by Beauty Basics. The deal is expected to close in April.

“The transition of the Minneapolis and New York Institutes will provide all employees and students greater opportunity by providing the operational infrastructure to help move them into their next stage of growth,” Rachel Dillon, Executive Director, Global Communications at Aveda, said. Beauty Basics “will maintain the high standards of Aveda, while offering additional support and resources and continuing to deliver high quality talent to the network and industry.”

All employees at both Aveda Institutes have been offered positions at Neill Corporation when the schools transition in April.

Read the full story in the Star Tribune.