SkinMedica, a professional skincare company partially financed by GlaxoSmithKline’s corporate venturing unit, acquired US-based mineral makeup company Colorescience on Monday for an undisclosed amount.
Private equity firm VMG Partners, which invested in Colorescience in November 2007, exited in the transaction, transferring its stake to SkinMedica.
Colorescience produces a range of cosmetic products that simultaneously work in a visual sense as makeup, and as protection against damage from the sun. SkinMedica, which chiefly markets its products to physicians, is aiming to incorporate Colorescience’s products into its own range.
Mary Fisher, chief executive officer of SkinMedica, said: "Mineral makeup has been a priority expansion target for us for some time. It is especially gratifying to combine with Colorescience, as their product line is based in science and trusted by our physician customers."
Among the investors in SkinMedica, which filed for an initial public offering in 2005 that was cancelled six months later, is Euclid SR, a VC fund linked to pharmaceutical conglomerate GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) through GSK’s corporate venturing unit, SR One.
Ted Schwarz, president of SkinMedica, said: "We are excited to add these highly complementary product offerings to expand our presence in the physician channel. With Colorescience, we can now offer our physician customers three categories of patient care – skin care, non-surgical procedures, and now mineral makeup – which will further deepen our relationships with our customers and their patients by enhancing outcomes with immediate results."