MBK buys two Korean consumer firms from Morgan Stanley PE in $216M deal
What's the deal? MBK PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is acquiring cosmetics company SkiniDeaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and health functional food maker Life & Bio from Morgan Stanley Private EquityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (MS PE). MBK signed a contract to buy controlling stakes in both, in a transaction reported at around ₩300 billion (roughly $216 million). Both companies were priced at about eight times EBITDA before amortization.
What each company brings: SkiniDea owns the cosmetics brand MedipeelDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, while Life & Bio operates in health functional foods. Current management at both is expected to stay after the deal closes.
Why now? MS PE had planned to shift SkiniDea toward global business-to-consumer channels and restructure it before selling. But the sale timing was accelerated to match terms proposed by MBK, according to the report.
The returns: MS PE bought a 67% stake in SkiniDea in March 2024, when its enterprise value on a 100% basis was ₩150 billion. Despite the company's growth slowing in late 2024 and entering an adjustment phase in 2025, MS PE is reported to have more than doubled its original SkiniDea investment.
Life & Bio, acquired in November 2021 with an 81% stake, returned roughly the original investment.
The signal: The deal underscores continued private equity appetite for Korean consumer assets, with buyout firms trading brands built on export-driven cosmetics and wellness demand.
Read more: chosun.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
