Good morning! Tate brothers are charged with rape, Christine Lagarde plans to finish her term as ECB president, and Hailey Bieber sells Rhode for a blockbuster $1 billion.
– Blockbuster beauty. It’s been a slow few years for beauty M&A—industry-watchers have been waiting for the sales of big brands like Glossier and Rare Beauty. Those so far haven’t materialized, but an acquisition yesterday shook up the category. E.l.f. Beauty announced its purchase of Hailey Bieber’s three-year-old Rhode for $1 billion.
Rhode launched in 2022, quickly gaining a foothold with Gen Z through its skincare, lip balms, and viral phone case. Bieber’s built-in audience of 54 million on Instagram alone (for the uninitiated, she is an incredibly popular influencer and married to pop star Justin Bieber) helped catapult the brand and its “milky” essences and glazes to the top of its category after a crowded few years for celebrity-fronted beauty.
