Kim Kardashian West sells stake in her beauty brand for $200 million
Kim Kardashian West is selling a stake in her beauty brand for $200 million, a deal that values the reality TV star's three-year-old makeup business at $1 billion.
The buyer is CoverGirl owner Coty, which will own 20% of the company, called KKW Beauty. Coty appears to have a Kardashian infatuation: Last year, it bought a majority stake in the makeup line started by Kardashian West's younger sister, Kylie Jenner, for $600 million.
"Kim is a true modern day global icon," said Coty CEO Peter Harf in a statement. He also cited Kardashian West's "unparalleled ability to connect with people around the world" as one reason for partnering with her.
Kardashian West, who stars on the long-running reality TV show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," founded KKW Beauty in 2017 and leveraged her hundreds of millions of social media followers to sell lip gloss, body foundation and perfume.
The 39-year-old will remain the creative force behind KKW Beauty, according to a Coty press release announcing the deal.
"Kardashian West and her team will lead all creative efforts in terms of product and communications initiatives," according to the release.
Coty plans to expand the brand into more countries around the world and explore other beauty categories, like skin creams and shampoos. It also hopes that the buzzy brand can help boost sales and connect with younger shoppers who spend time honing their own social media images.
KKW Beauty's reach dwarfs that of Coty's existing brands, which include Max Factor makeup and Sally Hansen nail polish. Max Factor, for example, has 585,000 Instagram followers, compared to KKW Beauty's 4.4 million.
Coty, which expects the deal to close next year, didn't reveal any sales data for KKW Beauty. Shares of New York-based Coty rose 10% to $4.06 Monday morning.
It's been a busy summer for the Kardashian West family. On Friday, Kim Kardashian's husband, Kanye West, announced a deal to design fashions for the Gap under his Yeezy brand, news that sent Gap's long-sagging stock soaring more than 40% to surpass $14 a share.
West worked in a Gap store as a teen in Chicago. Now, the 43-year-old mogul "has become a disruptive force across music, footwear, fashion, architecture and more," the company says in the release. As he raps in the song "Spaceship," West is going "back, back to the Gap."
