The owner of Arthea, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, is reportedly exploring a sale of the personal care platform, a transaction that could value the entity at approximately $2 billion. Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Luxembourg-based CVC is collaborating with investment banks Moelis and William Blair on the prospective divestment of the privately held company, formerly known as PDC Brands. Discussions are understood to be in their nascent stages, with both CVC and Moelis declining official comment, and Arthea and William Blair not responding to inquiries.
Arthea is a personal care platform that owns popular bath and body product brands like Dr. Teal’s and Bodycology, alongside fragrance makers Body Fantasies and BOD Man, and textured hair care brand Cantu. Its diverse portfolio of products is distributed in over 80 countries globally. Founded in 1981 and based in White Plains, New York, the company recently rebranded from PDC, which stood for Parfums de Coeur, to Arthea, and introduced a new tween body care brand named Sunryz.
Should a deal for Arthea be completed, it would rank among the more substantial transactions in the personal care sector, which has experienced a significant flurry of activity this year. Recent notable deals include L’Oreal’s US$4.7 billion acquisition of Kering’s beauty unit and Henkel’s US$1.4 billion purchase of hair care brand Olaplex. Furthermore, Advent agreed to acquire body care brand Salt & Stone for an undisclosed sum, while OPI nail polish owner Wella Company, backed by KKR, recently filed for a US initial public offering, signalling robust public-market investor interest in consumer brands.
