Hailey Bieber's makeup brand sold to e.l.f. in $1bn deal

Hailey Bieber is selling her make-up brand Rhode to e.l.f. Beauty in a deal worth up to $1bn (£740m).

The 28-year-old model, who is married to singer Justin Bieber, co-founded the line of skincare products, which includes blush and lip tints, in 2022, giving it her middle name.

It has expanded rapidly thanks in part to its online popularity, reporting more than $200m in net sales over the 12 months to March, with plans of being offered in Sephora stores in the US and UK this year.

In its announcement of the deal, buyer e.l.f. Beauty called the business "a beautiful brand that we believe is ready for rocketship growth".

e.l.f - short for eyes, lips and face - is paying $800m in cash and stock for the company, with a further $200m payout possible depending on future sales growth.

The deal is expected to close later this year.

Ms Bieber, who will stay with the company as chief creative officer, wrote on social media that the deal marked the "next chapter" for the brand. Other co-founders and current executives will continue to lead the business after the sale.

"Our partnership with e.l.f. Beauty marks an incredible opportunity to elevate and accelerate our ability to reach more of our community with even more innovative products and widen our distribution globally," she said in the business announcement.

The brand has become particularly popular on social media, with viral TikToks about their pocket blush and "peptide lip treatments".

Ms Bieber's decision to launch a beauty line follows in the footsteps of other celebrities, such as Rihanna, whose Fenty Beauty was worth nearly $3bn last year, according to Forbes estimates.

It also follows Kylie Jenner, who sold a stake of her cosmetics company in 2020 to Coty for $600m, and Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty line, which earned her a place on the Bloomberg billionaire index last year.

Overall in 2023, celebrity beauty brands generated more than $1bn in sales in 2023, according to a Nielsen IQ report.

Ms Bieber is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and niece of actors Alec, William and Daniel Baldwin. She had her first child with her husband last year.

In an interview for a Vogue cover story published before the announcement of the deal, she said the success of the Rhode brand had been a surprise.

"In my wildest dreams, it's already gone beyond what I would've hoped for," she said.