Wella prepares its IPO in the U.S. after invoicing 2.940 million dollars and returning to profit

The hair and nail care giant, backed by private equity firm KKR, will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "WELA" led by its new CEO, Calvin McDonald

03 of September of 2026
Save
Wella
Wella

The beauty multinational The Wella Company has officially filed Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering. According to financial market estimates, the operation seeks to raise more than 500 million dollars, positioning the company's valuation above the 4.3 billion dollars at which it was valued after its initial spin-off.

Financial Recovery and Revenues of 2.94 Billion

The public filing comes after a strong fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, in which the company consolidated its return to profitability:

  • Global Revenue: Reached 2.939 billion dollars (a 9.2% year-over-year growth).

  • Net Result: Recorded a net profit of 62.3 million dollars, reversing the previous year's losses (8.7 million dollars loss in 2025 and 44.6 million in 2024).

  • Gross Margin: Maintained a gross margin of 68.4%, with an operating profit of 243.3 million dollars.

The IPO represents the culmination of the independence process initiated in 2020, when investment firm KKR acquired a 60% stake in Wella from Coty Inc. for 4.3 billion dollars (including debt).

The spin-off process was definitively completed when KKR bought the remaining 25.8% of the shares still held by Coty for 750 million dollars in cash. With the IPO, KKR paves the way to monetize its investment.

Brand Portfolio and Operational Scope

Wella operates as the world's largest company exclusively dedicated to the hair and nail sector in professional and consumer channels (pure-play):

  • Flagship Brands: Its portfolio includes Wella Professionals (global #1 leader in salon hair color), OPI (global #1 brand in premium nail polishes), ghd (thermal styling tools), Clairol, Sebastian Professional, and Nioxin.

  • Global Presence: Present in over 100 countries, it serves more than 250,000 beauty salons and has three proprietary manufacturing plants located in Germany, Mexico, and Thailand.

  • E-commerce and Direct Channel: Digital sales and sales intermediated by marketplaces represented 23% of its total revenue in the last fiscal year.

The company plans to allocate the funds raised primarily to reduce its long-term financial debt and to settle tax obligations arising from the previous corporate restructuring. The operation has a first-tier banking consortium led by Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan and the capital division of KKR. Wella is under the executive direction of Calvin McDonald, former executive of Lululemon and Sephora, who took on the task of leading this new phase as a listed company on the NYSE.