Coty to acquire beauty platform Younique for $600m

Coty has entered into a partnership to acquire a 60% stake in Younique for approximately $600m.

The remaining 40% stake will be owned by Younique's founders Derek Maxfield and Melanie Huscroft.

Younique offers makeup and skincare products via its peer-to-peer e-commerce platform. This allows the firm's independent presenters to market and distribute its range of beauty products directly to consumers through social media.

Built for mobile-first e-commerce and global expansion, the platform has around 200,000 active presenters and more than 4.1 million consumers across ten countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong.

Younique is expecting net revenues of approximately $400m in 2016.

Coty's chief executive officer Camillo Pane said: “Derek and Melanie are tremendous entrepreneurs who have built one of the most engaging and fastest growing e-commerce companies in beauty.

"Alongside the rest of Younique’s team, and in partnership with their presenters, they have been able to impact the lives of millions of consumers across a number of countries with a mission to uplift and empower women.

"We look forward to working with them to continue supporting this mission and building Younique into a leading global e-commerce beauty company.”

The partnership will include a combination of Younique’s e-commerce platform and social selling direct-to-consumer business model with Coty’s beauty product research and development (R&D), as well as manufacturing and supply chain capabilities.

Subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to complete during Coty’s 2017 fiscal Q3.

To be led by Maxfield, Huscroft, and a management team in collaboration with Coty, Younique will operate as a separate business within Coty’s Consumer Beauty unit.