US. The Estée Lauder Companies announced yesterday that it has completed the sale of the stila brand to Stila Corp., an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc, a Boca Raton, Florida-based private equity firm.
Stila will be run by a management team led by Jane M. McKellar, the former Managing Director of Elizabeth Arden in Australia.
Operations of stila are expected to continue, and the Stila Corp. team will immediately assume responsibility for all decisions regarding the future direction of the brand. The sale was effective 10 April. The Estée Lauder Companies and its subsidiaries will be providing certain transition services in connection with the sale. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Estée Lauder announced its intention to seek a buyer for the brand on October 26, 2005.
“We are pleased to be selling stila to Stila Corp. and Sun Capital,” said William P. Lauder, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies. “Jane McKellar and her colleagues are talented, experienced executives who are passionate about cosmetics and the stila brand. We believe this bodes well for the brand’s future. At the same time, we are pleased that our Company has taken this important step in our drive to optimize our portfolio of brands.”
Stila, a makeup-artist brand, was acquired by The Estée Lauder Companies in 1999. It is currently sold in specialty and department stores in about 13 countries, as well as in selected Travel Retail outlets around the world.
“We want to express our appreciation to stila’s employees for their contributions to the success of the brand,” said Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies. “We are grateful for their dedication and passion.”
Going forward, The Estée Lauder Companies said it remains committed to growth in the makeup artist-brand category with its MAC and Bobbi Brown brands.
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