Ilia to be acquired by Famille C

Skin-centric clean beauty brand Ilia is being acquired by the Courtin-Clarins family investment firm, Famille C.

Since its inception in 2011, Ilia has been dedicated to reshaping the conventions of clean beauty. It all started after founder Sasha Plavsic set out to re-create a nontoxic version of her favorite lip balm. Today, it continues to rethink industry norms, creating skin-centric makeup with safe, yet powerful formulas.

It offers a "full face" assortment of more than 100 makeup products crafted with certified organic ingredients and non-toxic synthetics. Items are available across more than 30 countries around the world, including in prominent retailers such as Space NK, The Detox Market, Bluemercury, Mecca and Sephora.

In January 2020, it announced a Series B investment partnership led by Sandbridge Capital, which followed a Series A investment led by Silas Capital that closed in late 2018.

The acquisition will give the investment firm a pioneer and leader in the clean beauty category, which is only expected to grow. Meanwhile, the acquisition will allow Ilia to dive into new categories and to grow its international distribution, especially in Europe.

The deal with Ilia is expected to close in the first half of this year, according to WWD. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Famille C, which also owns the Clarins brand, will own the majority share of the brand, while Clarins will hold a minority stake, as will Plavskic and Lynda Berkowitz, the brand’s CEO.

Most recently, in 2021, Famille C also made a $9 million Series B investment in Pai Skincare, as well as acquired the Château Beauséjour, for 75 million euros.

Ilia to be acquired by Famille C

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