Estée Lauder’s Asian Move: Taking Full Control of Dr. Jart+ Parent Co.

The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. is building up in Asia with a deal to buy full control of Seoul-based Have & Be. Co., bringing the Dr. Jart+ and Do The Right Thing brands fully into the fold.  Lauder is buying the two-thirds of the company it doesn’t already own for about $1.1 billion. That gives Have & Be an enterprise value of about $1.7 billion. The deal, which will be paid for with debt, is expected to close in December and was made pursuant to the agreement Lauder cut when it took a minority stake in the company in 2015. This is the beauty giant’s first acquisition of Asia-based beauty brands. And the deal brings Lauder a significant new business to build on.   For 2019, Dr. Jart+, which produces skin care collections such as Cicapair and Ceramidin, is expected to drive sales of more than $500 million — registering a compounded annual growth of over 80 percent for the past four years. The skin care brand is sold through specialty channels, travel retail, freestanding stores, department stores and e-commerce.  “Dr. Jart+ combines skin, science and art with an eccentric twist,” Fabrizio Freda, president and chief executive officer of Lauder, told WWD in an exclusive statement. 

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