Beauty powerhouse Coty has sold its remaining 25.8% stake in Wella to KKR managed capital accounts and investment affiliates. Coty will receive upfront cash consideration of US$750 million and 45% of any proceeds from a further sale or an initial public offering of the business.
The move was announced as the company confirmed changes to its senior leadership, flagged in recent days, that sees the departures of Executive Chairman Peter Harf and CEO Sue Nabi. Markus Strobel has been named Executive Chairman of the Board and Interim Chief Executive Officer effective from 1 January.
Strobel joins Coty after a 33-year career at Procter & Gamble, where he most recently served as President of P&G’s Global Skin & Personal Care business.
The company noted, “He is widely recognised for driving category and organisational transformation across P&G Beauty and for revitalising SK-II into a leading prestige skincare brand in Asia.”
During his tenure, Strobel held senior roles across Beauty & Grooming spanning fine fragrance, hair care, and grooming. This included leading prestige brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Hugo Boss as part of his fragrance assignment.
He spearheaded modernisation of innovation, product supply, marketing and go-to-market strategies, and operating capabilities across North America, Greater China, Japan, Korea and Europe for his businesses, Coty said in a statement.
With a strategic review of the Consumer Beauty business underway, Strobel said he sees opportunity to “reinforce Coty’s leadership in beauty and unlock multiple avenues for profitable growth and expansion”.
Strobel commented, “I am delighted to join Coty at this important juncture. Building on Coty’s strong foundations, I see tremendous potential to accelerate growth, strengthen our position in prestige and mass beauty, and deliver sustainable value for shareholders, partners, and consumers worldwide.”
Harf retires from Coty’s Board after more than three decades of service with Sue Nabi stepping down as CEO following a five-year tenure.
A company statement said, “Harf’s leadership helped shape Coty into a global beauty leader, while Nabi oversaw the launch of several blockbuster fragrances, including Burberry Goddess, and materially reduced Coty’s financial net leverage to ~3x. Both leave Coty with a strong foundation for future profitable growth.”
Of the Wella agreement, Coty said the sale completes the programme initiated in 2020 to “simplify Coty’s portfolio and operations, while realising the full value of its Wella business”.
Coty intends to use the vast majority of the Wella upfront cash proceeds to pay down debt. Both the Wella proceeds and Coty’s free cash flow generation (over US$350 million in the first half of FY26, in line with recent guidance) are expected to reduce Coty’s financial net leverage to ~3x by the end of calendar year 2025.
“This transaction marks a pivotal milestone for Coty – both in our transformation and in our long-running deleveraging commitment,” said Coty CFO Laurent Mercier. “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.
“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.” ✈
*Click here for a Moodie Davitt Report video interview with Wella Head of Global Travel Retail and Director of Business Development Marco Vitale on shaping Wella’s next phase of growth, filmed at TFWA World Exhibition.
