Image: Left/Britannica/Right/Refinery29
What began in November 2015 as a debut lip kit became Kylie Cosmetics, a brand that built a devoted audience online and then attracted one of the largest beauty companies in the world. In November 2019, that company, Coty, agreed to buy a majority stake in the business for 600 million dollars. Few beauty stories capture the power of social media as clearly as the rise of Kylie Jenner ‘s cosmetics business. Here’s how the brand grew, what the agreement contained, why the numbers mattered, and how the partnership was designed to carry the business into new global markets.
On 18 November 2019, Coty and Kylie Jenner announced a long-term strategic partnership. Under the terms of the agreement, Coty would acquire 51 per cent ownership in the partnership for 600 million dollars, and the acquisition was expected to close in the third quarter of Coty’s fiscal year 2020. Kylie Cosmetics generated an estimated 177 million dollars in net revenues over the preceding twelve months. Coty said it expected the transaction to add more than 1 per cent per year to the net revenue growth of its core fragrance, cosmetics and skin care portfolio over the next three years. The company also expected the deal to be neutral to its earnings per share in the first year and to add to them afterwards, and it expected the return on invested capital to exceed its cost of capital by fiscal year 2023. Founded in Paris in 1904, Coty describes itself as one of the world’s largest beauty companies, with a portfolio spanning fragrance, colour cosmetics, and skin and body care. The site lists the company as second globally in both fragrances and mass colour cosmetics, with more than 60 brands and licenses, about 11,300 employees, seven manufacturing sites and sales in more than 120 countries. For fiscal 2026, it reports net revenues of 5.8 billion dollars, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of 847 million dollars, and free cash flow of 348 million dollars.
Chairman of the Board Peter Harf told the public that the partnership was an exciting step in Coty’s renewed emphasis on its beauty business, calling Kylie Jenner a modern-day icon with an incredible sense of the beauty consumer. Pierre Laubies, Coty’s chief executive officer, told the public the company was pleased to welcome her into its organisation and family. Coty described the transaction as a key milestone in its ongoing transformation into a more focused and agile company. Coty’s press release sets out the financial case in specific terms. Tiger Shark served as an advisor to Coty on the transaction. Coty also scheduled a conference call that morning, with the live audio webcast and presentation slides made available through its investor relations website. Coty’s own investor relations website shows the scale of the company that Kylie Jenner partnered with. Pairing that infrastructure with a creator-led brand is what the partnership set out to do.
