SPF 80! Home-grown sunscreen brand Ultra Violette lures US backer
New York private equity firm Aria Growth Partners’ dealmakers are stocking up on Aussie sunscreen just as temperatures breach 30 degrees in Sydney.
Ultra Violette co-founders Bec Jefferd (left) and Ava Chandler-Matthews. Justin McManus.
Street Talk can reveal Aria has been in talks to buy a minority stake in Ultra Violette, a sunscreen brand founded by ex-Mecca product development duo Ava Matthews and Bec Jefferd less than five years ago.
If consummated – and it is unclear how progressed the talks are – the deal would be expected to value Ultra Violette at as much as $80 million. It follows a wave of overseas interest in Australian beauty brands that has seen global bigwigL’Oréal stump up $3.7 billion for Aesop and Japan’s Kao Corporation pay $450 million for tanning specialist Bondi Sands.
A spokeswoman was unable to respond to Street Talk’s request for comment on Sunday.
Ultra Violette would join Aria’s stables of well-known beauty and cosmetic brands including The Inkey List. The firm typically invests in businesses with revenue between $US10 million and $US30 million, tipping in $US5 million to $US30 million in lieu of minority stakes. It was previously an investor in Hero Cosmetics, the owner of a cult acne skincare product called the Mighty Patch.
For its part, Ultra Violette has 137,000 followers on Instagram. Its products – such as Queen Screen SPF50+ Hydrating Skinscreen – sell for about $50 for 75 millilitres and are sold via higher-end beauty retailers like Adore Beauty and even Net-a-Porter and Harrods.
It has been expanding overseas, with the co-founders telling The Australian Financial Review in May about Ultra Violette’s success in Sephora Australia serving as a gateway to 12 European markets including
Read more on afr.com
