Former L’Oréal execs set out to build a $1.2 billion beauty empire. Now all that’s left is Milk Makeup, and its sales just fell 57%
Source: Fortune ·
Waldencast sold Obagi, lost its founders to the buyer, and is leaving Nasdaq. What's left is a makeup brand whose sales fell by more than half.
From the source
A $1.2 billion deal meant to launch a global beauty empire has shrunk to an attempt to revive one struggling makeup brand whose sales are plunging. In early 2021, Michel Brousset, the former group president of L’Oréal’s Consumer Products Division in North America, and fellow beauty executive Hind Sebti launched Waldencast Acquisition Corp. It was a special purpose acquisition company that went public at the height of the SPAC frenzy. In November 2021, Waldencast announced a $1.2 billion three-way business combination with Obagi Medical, a physician-dispensed skincare brand, and cult beauty brand Milk Makeup. It called the deal the “first step” in its plan to build a global multibrand beauty and wellness platform. The transaction closed in July 2022. Four years later, that multibrand platform came apart in a matter of months. In June, Waldencast agreed to sell Obagi Medical to private equity firm [Bridgepoint] [FORTUNE LINK: Bridgepoint/Obagi coverage]. The deal closed on July 30 for…