E.l.f. Beauty Acquires Hailey Bieber’s Rhode for Up to $1 Billion
2025-07-11
E.l.f. Beauty just sent shock waves through the beauty world—and Wall Street—by announcing it will acquire Hailey Bieber’s buzzy skincare label Rhode for up to $1 billion, the largest transaction in e.l.f.’s 21-year history. The headline price is eye-catching, but the structure is nuanced: $800 million in cash and stock at closing, plus a potential $200 million earn-out tied to Rhode’s growth over the next three years. Investors loved the move; e.l.f. shares rocketed more than 30 % intraday, adding roughly $1.8 billion in market value—almost twice the headline cost.
What e.l.f. Is Really Buying Founded only three years ago, Rhode has already hit $212 million in trailing-twelve-month sales—entirely through direct-to-consumer channels and pop-ups, with just ten SKUs priced between $18 and $32. The brand’s secret sauce is Hailey Bieber herself: 54 million Instagram followers, the “glazed-donut skin” trend she coined, and a community-first launch playbook that generated $10 million in the first 11 days. E.l.f. isn’t shy about paying for that momentum; CEO Tarang Amin calls Rhode “a like-minded disruptor ready for rocket-ship growth”.
Social Media Erupts Within minutes of the press release, #RhodeDeal was trending on TikTok, Threads, and Instagram. Fans celebrated the pairing—memes juxtaposed e.l.f.’s $6.50 primers with Rhode’s $29 “glazing milk” under captions like “from drugstore to deluxe.” Reddit’s beauty boards were more skeptical, dissecting the earn-out (“only $800 M guaranteed”) and debating whether celebrity brands can sustain hype beyond year three.
Inside the Integration Plan Hailey will stay on as Rhode’s Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation, while co-founders Michael and Lauren Ratner retain operational roles. Rhode will enter Sephora doors in North America and the U.K. later this year—its first wholesale footprint—supported by e.l.f.’s supply-chain muscle and TikTok-savvy marketing engine. CFO Mandy Fields told Yahoo Finance the deal “checks every box” for e.l.f.’s post-pandemic playbook: disrupt norms, shape culture, and connect communities.
Can the Hype Last?
Goldman Sachs calls the acquisition “strategically positive,” noting it diversifies e.l.f. into prestige skincare and higher-income consumers. Skeptics point to Coty’s rocky $1.2 billion valuation of Kylie Cosmetics as a cautionary tale. Either way, e.l.f. is all-in: it’s borrowing $600 million at today’s high rates to fund the purchase, a bet that consumers will keep splurging on premium skincare even if the economy softens.
Goldman Sachs calls the acquisition “strategically positive,” noting it diversifies e.l.f. into prestige skincare and higher-income consumers. Skeptics point to Coty’s rocky $1.2 billion valuation of Kylie Cosmetics as a cautionary tale. Either way, e.l.f. is all-in: it’s borrowing $600 million at today’s high rates to fund the purchase, a bet that consumers will keep splurging on premium skincare even if the economy softens.
For now, the beauty universe is watching to see whether e.l.f. can turn Hailey Bieber’s three-year miracle into a decade-long dynasty—and whether Rhode’s minimalist ten-product line can scale without losing the cool factor that made it worth a billion in the first place.
E.l.f. Beauty trades on the NYSE under ticker ELF.
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