[Exclusive] K-Beauty Brand 'Rovectin' Shares Worth 20 Billion Won Up for Sale

Basic Skincare Brand 'Rovectin' Plans Partial Sale of European Business
Founded in 2011, Clean Beauty Brand Avoiding Animal Testing
Manufactured by Domestic Companies Like Cosmax and Kolmar

As the popularity of K-beauty soars, a portion of the stake in the basic cosmetics brand Rovectin has been put up for sale in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 7th, the scale of the Rovectin stake transaction on the market is about 20 billion KRW based on the final investment round. It is reported that a portion of the shares held by Rovectin's existing investors has been put up for sale. There is no change in the shares held by CEO Lee Sung-soo and others.

Rovectin, established in 2011, is a cosmetics brand company whose production is carried out by domestic manufacturers such as Cosmax and Kolmar. It is a brand belonging to basic cosmetics among basic and color cosmetics and is gaining attention as a clean beauty brand that avoids animal testing.

Since it started with the development of cosmetics to help cancer patients recover skin health after surgery, it holds the title of Korea's first skincare brand specialized for cancer patients. Sales began mainly through hospitals such as cancer centers and dermatology clinics, and later expanded new product lines to sell to general customers through online and offline distribution channels. Currently, it is sold on its own mall, Coupang, Olive Young, and others.

Rovectin strictly selects ingredients and creates products that can restore skin health without using unnecessary or harmful materials. It does not conduct animal testing and sells vegan cosmetics made with 100% plant-based raw materials. It also has a principle of transparently disclosing the ingredients used in the product manufacturing process.

The domestic and overseas sales ratio is about 6 to 4, with overseas sales mainly occurring in the United States, Europe, and Japan. An IB industry official evaluated, "Among mid-range brands, customer satisfaction is relatively high, and there is growth potential through expansion into China and Southeast Asia."

Recently, K-beauty has gained great popularity in the United States and Japan, surpassing French luxury brands such as Chanel and Lanc?me to become the number one imported brand.

In the United States, the K-beauty craze centers on basic cosmetics, while in Japan, it focuses on color cosmetics. In the U.S., all-in-one products were mainly used before, but recently, interest in functional cosmetics such as anti-aging has increased, leading to a rise in demand for Korean skincare products. In Japan, color cosmetics are popular mainly among the MZ generation (born early 1980s to early 2000s), fueled by the popularity of K-pop idols.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, last year's cosmetics export amount reached 10.2 billion USD (about 15 trillion KRW), surpassing 10 billion USD for the first time ever. Cosmetics exports have continued to grow steadily since 2014, reaching a record high of 9.2 billion USD in 2021, but slowed down in 2022 (8 billion USD) and 2023 (8.5 billion USD). Last year's cosmetics exports grew explosively by 20.6% compared to the previous year.