April 24, 2024

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Korean cosmetics giant and private equity firms are considering acquiring global cosmetics brand Physiogel, which is known for its moisturizers, according to industry sources Nov. 13.

In June, global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline decided to sell Physiogel as part of its plan to restructure its brands and raise around $1.26 billion before spinning off its consumer health care business. It picked US-based firm Greenhill to organize the sale and select preliminary bidders by end-August.

According to sources, the new owner is likely to be chosen before the end of this year at the earliest.

Industry watchers predict that it is likely that Korean conglomerates and private equity firms who own cosmetics business here will be keen to acquire the brand as Korea currently accounts for around 34 percent of Physiogel’s sales. Its sales last year reached around 100 billion won ($85.59 million) globally.

Since Physiogel Korea’s EBIDTA is around 20 billion won to 40 billion won, the estimated price for the brand’s Korean and Asian units are likely to be around 200-300 billion won. Physiogel’s total global business, including in Europe, Asia and Latin America, is evaluated to be over 1 trillion won.

In 1847, Physiogel was established by German-based company Stiefel Laboratories. It became GlaxoSmithKline’s brand when it was acquired by the German company for $2.9 billion in 2009.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)