In recent years it seems everything has been getting bigger—the investments, the deals, and without question, the exits. It used to be that billion-dollar exits were a rare event. Now the goal of beauty start-ups is unicorn status before even contemplating an exit. Activity in Q2 remained steady with Avon finally sealing the deal on new ownership and Edgewell Personal Care acquiring Harry’s for a reported $1.37 billion valuation. Overall, it remains a seller’s market, and has been one for the past 10 years, noted John Potter, US deals sector leader at PwC. Potter told WWD that trends fueling deals include companies looking to “buy assets to increase their capabilities, and/or bringing into the portfolio brands that consumers want as well as [adding assets] to build scale.”
Inside The BeautyMatter Q2 Report: