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Hello reader,
As someone who doesn’t use cosmetics and hardly any skincare products, I’m always a little bewildered when I follow my wife into a Watson’s and see the sheer range of products available.
Are there really that many different ways to wash or nourish one’s skin? How many are real solutions and how many are just the product of manufactured demand?
Regardless of my ignorance, it’s evident that it’s a massive industry. Today’s premium story takes a look at a Singaporean skincare and haircare brand’s journey to a US$100 million acquisition.
Today we look at:
- How Coco & Eve exited for US$100 million
- The US$1.6 million pre-series A round of a Bengaluru-based deeptech startup
- Other newsy highlights such as the charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov is facing and JD.com’s big share buyback plan
Premium summary
Coco & Eve’s US$100 million journey
Image credit: Timmy Loen
In July, Coco & Eve founder Emily Hamilton sold a majority stake in the company to US-based private equity firm Gauge Capital.
The “mostly cash deal” of over US$100 million is currently one of the largest beauty industry acquisitions to emerge from Singapore.
- Heck, why not? Hamilton, who has been an entrepreneur for over 17 years, says she accepted the offer because it was a “big exit opportunity” and something that she “wanted to experience and achieve.”
- A quick bio: Founded in 2018, Coco & Eve offers vegan, clean, and cruelty-free skin and hair care products. The bootstrapped and profitable digital marketplace also has a significant offline presence in retail stores like Cult Beauty in the UK, Zalando in Germany, Sephora in Asia, and Adore Beauty in Australia.
- Sounds like a plan: Hamilton says that in the six- to 12-month transition period following the deal, she will play an active part in the firm, after which she plans to step back and take up a “consulting role.”
Read more: Inside a Singapore beauty brand’s $100m glow up
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