MILAN — Italian cosmetic company Deborah Group has been acquired by Sodalis Group. The deal, the financial details of which have not been disclosed, was signed on Wednesday and will be finalized by the end of the year.
“The choice [of selling] to Sodalis will enable us to keep this historic and well-known brand Italian, as it has risk to be taken over by foreign buyers,” said Deborah Group’s president Giovanni Pietro Bonetti. “Moreover, Sodalis has experience in integrating and developing brands and will be able to give Deborah a new impulse, respecting its identity.”
A leading company operating in the beauty and personal- and home-care markets, Sodalis Group has completed 20 acquisitions in the last 20 years. Deborah Group will join Sodalis’ portfolio of brands, including BioNike, Tesori d’Oriente, Vidal, Lycia, Fresh & Clean, Leocream and Biopoint, among others.
“The acquisition of Deborah allows us to consolidate our presence in the makeup [industry] — a growing market with extremely interesting dynamics — through a leading and well-known brand,” said Sodalis Group’s chief executive officer Fabio Granata, adding that the goal is to relaunch the cosmetic brand, further expanding its business in Italy and internationally.
Founded in 1903, Deborah Group is a leading Italian cosmetics company, which comprises a range of makeup lines such as Deborah Milano, Debby, Rouge Baiser Paris, Dermolab and Bioetyc. The company registered sales of 75 million euros in 2017 and counts more than 180 employees across Italy and Spain.
With offices in Italy, France, Portugal, Spain and Russia and a total of 540 employees, Sodalis Group registered a turnover of 430 million euros in 2017.