CITIC Capital Partners acquires Hangzhou UCO Cosmetics in carve-out deal

By Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc

April 29, 2019

Buyouts-focused CITIC Capital Partners – the private equity arm of CITIC Capital – has acquired Hangzhou UCO Cosmetics from Qingdao KingKing Applied Chemistry in a carve-out transaction.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The existing UCO management team will continue to lead the company in its next phase of growth, CITIC Capital said in a statement.

The private equity firm added that this was the seventh carve-out deal it has completed within two years, following sauce maker Amoy Food, McDonald’s business in Mainland China and Hong Kong, sexual wellness company LifeStyles, Wall Street English, financial information database operator Global Marketing Intelligence Division and supply chain pooling solution provider China Merchants Loscam.

Established in 2010, UCO operates as an e-commerce platform for the beauty and personal care sector in China.

The company provides an omni-channel retail solution for its brand clients, from digital and market-entry strategy, omni-channel retail operation, to social media and marketing content creation. International cosmetics brands on its platform include Estée Lauder, MAC, Clinique, and Clarins, among others.

UCO said its GMV sales in 2018 reached over 6.5 billion Chinese yuan ($965 million).

“The beauty sector is one of the fastest growing consumer sectors with e-commerce being the growth engine for many of the global and local beauty brands in the China market. UCO is known for its deep understanding of digital and e-commerce, innovative and technology-enabled solutions, and dedication in quality service,” said Hanxi Zhao, senior managing director of CITIC Capital.

CITIC Capital Partners has completed over 60 investments in the past years in China, Japan, US and Europe, managing $7.3 billion of committed capital to date.

Its parent firm manages over $25 billion of capital across 100 funds and investment products through its multi-asset class platform covering private equity, real estate, structured investment and finance and asset management.

Also read:

CITIC Capital hits final close of China-focused fund at $1.57b

China’s CITIC Capital raising new $2b investment fund

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In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

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  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
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