Exclusive: Eurazeo to Shut Down Brand Investment Arm

French private equity firm Eurazeo Global is imminently closing its consumer portfolio Eurazeo Brands, made up of labels like Beekman 1802, Gisou, Nest New York, Herschel and Axel Arigato, three sources told The Business of Beauty.

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Eurazeo said the firm “has recently decided to review consumer investment opportunities through its generalist funds, rather than via a dedicated strategy.” The company maintains €37.4 billion ($43.6 billion) in assets under management.

The move follows a rocky few years for Eurazeo Brands, which was established in 2017. Eurazeo Brands was championed by chief executive Virginie Morgon and led by Jill Granoff; one of its first investments was a $60 million majority stake in the fragrance label Nest New York. The next year, the firm announced it had taken a stake in cosmetics label Pat McGrath Labs, reportedly paying $60 million for the brand at a $1 billion valuation.

In 2023, BoF reported that Eurazeo had quietly exited its position in Pat McGrath Labs, whose valuation is understood to be closer to the low nine figures. The brand is currently in an asset sale process managed by US firm Hilco Global, with an auction set for Jan. 27.

In 2021, Eurazeo Brands took a majority stake in skincare label Beekman 1802 alongside two of the brand’s other investors, contributing $62 million out of an overall $90 million purchase. It took a minority stake in hair care brand Gisou in 2022.

The consolidation is part of Eurazeo’s three-year strategy to rotate its balance sheet, announced in 2024 after an executive committee ousted Morgon as the group’s CEO. As part of this plan, the firm will sell its remaining positions by the end of 2027.

In Dec. 2025, the firm also announced that it had sold $303.1 million of assets acquired as part of its Elevate strategy, focusing on small-to-medium size enterprises in Europe and representing half of the group’s stake in its PME III and PME IV funds raised in 2017 and 2022, respectively. This reduced the group’s share of both funds to 20 percent.

A Private Equity Reckoning

PE firms are known to swoop in and maximise profits at any cost, but have more recently become attractive investors for growth-stage beauty businesses after a number of high profile transactions.

Prelude Growth Partners backed the brands Sol de Janeiro and Naturium before their sales to large strategics L’Occitane and E.l.f. Beauty, respectively. More recently, TSG Consumer Partners acquired the fragrance brand Phlur, while General Atlantic Partners helped Mona Kattan spin off her label Kayali from sister brand Huda Beauty.

But expertise in the category is paramount, and not all investments are well-informed. US-based firm The Carlyle Group decided to cull its consumer portfolio in 2022, after acquiring “clean” label Beautycounter and men’s grooming brand Every Man Jack. The former was purchased by founder Gregg Renfrew out of foreclosure in 2024.

Eurazeo has made some sound bets in beauty, and sold its majority stake in Nest to North Capital Partners in 2022 for a 2.7x return on its investment, according to a release.

A spokesperson for Eurazeo did not specify which brands would remain in its portfolio, but added that the company’s objective, to support companies with their growth and monetise its positions under optimal value-creation conditions, “hasn’t changed.”

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