Coty divests remaining stake in hair care brand Wella to KKR

By Alessandro Carrara | Published: 19-Dec-2025
Hair Care

The French beauty giant intends to use the cash generated by the divestment to pay down its short-term and long-term debt

Coty has sold its remaining stake in Wella to global investment firm KKR.

The French beauty giant’s final 25.8% stake in the professional hair care brand has been divested to KKR’s managed capital accounts and investment affiliates.

Under the terms of the transaction, Coty will receive an upfront cash consideration of US$750m.

This also includes 45% of any proceeds from a further sale or an initial public offering (IPO) of the business, after KKR’s preferred return has been met.

Coty stated it sees “strong potential” for additional cash proceeds, based on Wella’s “strong recent and expected performance”, as well as current market valuations.

The stake divestment rounds off Coty’s optimisation programme, initiated in 2020 to simplify its portfolio and operations, while also realising the full value of its Wella business.

“This transaction marks a pivotal milestone for Coty – both in our transformation and in our long running deleveraging commitment,” said Laurent Mercier, Coty’s CFO.

“Our strategic partnership with KKR has proven highly value accretive.

“We have benefited from Wella’s strong growth by progressively monetising our stake, allowing us to strengthen Coty’s financial foundations year after year.”

Coty intends to use the majority of the Wella upfront cash proceeds related to this transaction to pay down its short-term and long-term debt.

American multinational investment bank Citi is serving as financial advisor to Coty.

Mercier added: “Completing this transaction exactly in line with our original target to fully divest Wella by the end of CY25 underscores our focus on delivering on our financial commitments and crystallising value from non-core assets, all while sharpening our strategic focus.”

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