Olaplex to Be Acquired by Germany's Henkel for $1.4 Billion — Update

By Aimee Look

Henkel said it agreed to buy Olaplex Holdings for around $1.4 billion, snapping up the U.S. maker of premium shampoo in a deal that adds volume to the German company's hair-care portfolio.

The German maker of consumer-goods and chemicals said it would acquire premium hair-care brand Olaplex for around $2.06 a share, a 55% premium to its closing price Wednesday but a fraction of the $13.6 billion, or $21 a share, valuation it went public at.

The transaction for Olaplex was approved by the hair brand's board of directors, and controlling shareholder Advent International agreed to approve the transaction, Henkel said.

Henkel, home to brands like Schwarzkopf and Persil, has been on an acquisition spree this year. It purchased North American hair care and styling consumer brand Not Your Mother's, coatings company Stahl, and became a majority shareholder of U.K. building manufacturer Wetherby Laroc. In collecting a slate of new brands, Henkel is seeking to bolster growth for its adhesive and consumer units.

"This acquisition marks another important milestone in Henkel's purposeful growth agenda and further expands hair care as a core category within its consumer brands business," it said.

Advent will exit its investment in Olaplex once the deal closes, Olaplex said in a separate release. The company said it would combine its large direct-to-consumer and retail presence in North America with Henkel's international reach, and continue to operate under the Olaplex name.

The deal, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is set to cap Olaplex's life as a public company, which began in 2021, a year when initial public offerings boomed during the pandemic. Since then, the company's stock price plummeted as it grappled with declining sales amid mounting competition.

Like many other consumer conglomerates trimming portfolios, Henkel is repositioning itself toward premium offerings and scale. It completed the merger of its consumer goods business into a consumer brands business unit at the end of 2025, which is focused on high-growth and high-margin brands, Henkel said in its full year results. It also divested its retailer brands business in North America in 2025.

At the same time, Henkel's competitors Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser are elbowing for room in the premium personal care segment. The two giants also have, or are considering, disposing of lower margin brands in favor of a select set of premium brands. Unilever has also been shedding smaller food brands in particular, and is mulling the sale of its food business to McCormick--which acquired Reckitt's own food division in 2017.

Write to Aimee Look at aimee.look@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

This was corrected at 6:58 a.m. ET because the original version incorrectly said Olaplex was based in California. The company's headquarters are in New York.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 26, 2026 05:57 ET (09:57 GMT)