Morphe owner Forma Brands has agreed to a $690 million acquisition deal with lenders Jefferies Finance and Cerberus Capital Management, recently filed court documents show.
The $690 million deal is a stalking horse bid. The company and its assets were set for auction, but the auction was canceled as no higher or better bids were received before a March 21 hearing date, documents show. A recently formed LLC, FB Acquisition, will acquire Forma Brands and its related entities, which include companies in Canada, Europe and Asia.
In January, the retailer said it had about $868 million of funded principal debt and interest obligations. Earlier that month, the company closed all 18 of its U.S. stores and soon after filed for Chapter 11.
At the time of its Chapter 11 filing, Forma Brands said in a press release that Jefferies Finance and Cerberus would provide $33 million to take over its online platforms, wholesale operations and international Morphe-branded retail stores.
Along with Morphe, Forma’s other brands include Bad Habit, Lipstick Queen, Jaclyn Cosmetics and Playa Beauty. The company also has focused on collaborations with beauty influences like Jeffree Star and James Charles.
However, some of the influencer partnerships fell apart. The company in 2020 decided to “cease all commercial activity related to Jeffree Star and affiliated products,” following a series of controversies. Morphe also ended its partnership with Charles in 2021 following accusations Charles sent sexually explicit messages to minors.
And in February, Ariana Grande bought back the assets of her makeup company that she had licensed out to Forma Brands in 2020. Grande bought the assets for $15 million.
In 2019, equity investor General Atlantic acquired a controlling stake in the company. While the terms of that deal were not disclosed, the parent company was previously valued at $2 billion, according to Bloomberg. In 2020, the company relaunched and rebranded to Forma Brands from Morphe Holdings.
