Waldencast raises $345M SPAC, combines with Obagi and Milk Makeup

What's the deal? WaldencastDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Acquisition Corp. raised $345 million in its March 2021 SPAC IPO and was created to acquire beauty, wellness and personal-care businesses. In November 2021, it agreed to combine with ObagiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Milk MakeupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in a three-way transaction designed to create a publicly listed multi-brand beauty group.

What do the companies do? Obagi is a medical-grade skincare company known for physician-dispensed products addressing issues such as pigmentation, aging and skin health. Milk Makeup is a consumer cosmetics brand focused on makeup and skincare products sold through retailers including SephoraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and other beauty channels.

The combination gave Waldencast exposure to two distinct parts of the beauty market: clinically oriented skincare through Obagi and prestige consumer cosmetics through Milk Makeup.

How were the companies valued? At announcement, Obagi was assigned an enterprise value of $858 million, versus approximately $382 million for Milk Makeup. The sellers received a mix of cash and equity in the combined company, meaning the existing owners of both businesses retained an economic interest after the transaction.

What happened to Waldencast? The transaction closed in July 2022. Waldencast Acquisition Corp. redomiciled from the Cayman Islands to Jersey and became Waldencast plc. Waldencast plc then became the listed parent company of the combined group, with Obagi and Milk Makeup operating underneath it as its principal beauty businesses.

Waldencast began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker WALD and positioned itself as a platform for acquiring and building multiple beauty and wellness brands rather than as a single-brand operating company.

What happened later? Waldencast subsequently sold Obagi in 2026. Following that divestment, Milk Makeup became Waldencast’s sole operating brand, leaving the listed company primarily as the corporate parent of Milk Makeup and its remaining central assets.

Read more: Waldencast · SEC · SEC · Waldencast IR · Beauty Independent