Coty agrees to buy GHD for £420m in cash

US cosmetics firm Coty has agreed to buy hairstyle appliance brand GHD – which stands for ‘Good Hair Day’ – for around £420m in cash in a deal that is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings upon closing.

Coty said the addition of GHD’s market-leading and high-performance lines of hair straighteners, hairdryers, curlers and other hairstyling appliances is expected to further strengthen its worldwide leading position in the professional hair category.

The US firm said it plans to accelerate GHD’s strong track record of growth through its channel and category capabilities and GHD’s “innovative pipeline, superior technology and robust technical expertise”.

Headquartered in London with commercial operations in the UK, Australia, the US, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, among others, GHD generated revenues of £178m in fiscal year 2016.

Coty’s chief executive Camillo Pane said: “We are pleased to bring GHD’s highly skilled management team and its employees into Coty as we continue to strengthen our core business through the addition of innovative market-leading brands and products.

"GHD has beautifully designed and superior performing products, and is the preferred choice for discerning professionals and consumers alike. Not only do we expect GHD to strengthen our professional hair portfolio and enable Coty to provide even better hair solutions, but we also believe there is strong growth potential for ghd across several markets.”

The transaction, which will be funded with cash on hand and available debt facilities, is expected to close by the end of the calendar year.