- Parent company TerraVia will retain a 20% stake in the premium cosmetics brand
- Tengram will contribute “significant capital” to the Algenist business to speed up growth
- Algenist uses algae-based ingredients including Alguronic Acid and microalgae oil in its products
Private equity firm Tengram Capital Partners has bought a majority stake in prestige cosmetics brand Algenist for approximately $20m plus capital investment.
TerraVia, a food, nutrition and ingredients company, and the founding company behind Algenist, will retain approximately 20% ownership of the brand. Besides the acquisition, Tengram and TerraVia have entered into an ongoing partnership.
Tengram will contribute “significant capital” to the Algenist business to speed up growth, while both companies will identify opportunities to use Algenist’s algae-derived actives across different beauty brands.
We are enthusiastic about our partnership with Tengram as we work together to help Algenist achieve its extraordinary growth potential
Jonathan Wolfson, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of TerraVia
TerraVia will continue to supply ingredients used to formulate Algenist products.
Algenist uses algae-based ingredients including Alguronic Acid and microalgae oil in its anti-ageing and colour-correcting products.
Algenist recently expanded from its pure skin care positioning into make-up. Richard Gersten, a Partner at Tengram, said: “The recent bridge into colour cosmetics leveraging the patented ingredient technology creates tremendous potential for the future growth of the brand.”
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2016 and has already received approval from TerraVia’s Board of Directors. Algenist was launched in 2011 and today is stocked in 23 countries via retailers including Sephora, ULTA and QVC.
“We are enthusiastic about our partnership with Tengram as we work together to help Algenist achieve its extraordinary growth potential,” said Jonathan Wolfson, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of TerraVia.
