This Sept. 10, 2019, file photo shows Kim Kardashian arriving at the Serena Williams fashion show during Fashion Week in New York. AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File
NEW YORK — Kim Kardashian is selling a stake in her beauty brand for $200 million, in a deal that values the TV reality star’s three-year-old business at $1 billion.
The buyer is Covergirl owner Coty Inc., which will get a 20% stake in KKW Beauty. Coty seems to be enamored with the Kardashians: Last year, it bought a 51% stake in the makeup line started by Kardashian West’s younger sister, Kylie Jenner.
“Kim is a true modern-day global icon,” said Coty CEO Peter Harf, which is similar to what he said about Jenner in November.
Kardashian, who stars on the long-running reality TV show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”, founded KKW Beauty in 2017 and tapped into her hundreds of millions of social media followers to sell lip gloss, body foundation and perfume.
The 39-year-old will still promote KKW Beauty online and will help create new products.
Coty plans to expand the brand into more countries around the world and possibly into other categories, like skin creams and shampoos. It also hopes that the buzzy brand can help boost sales and connect with younger shoppers who spend a lot of time on social media.
Coty’s brands, including Max Factor makeup and Sally Hansen nail polish, can’t compete with KKW Beauty’s reach. Max Factor, for example, has 585,000 Instagram followers. KKW Beauty has 4.4 million.
Coty, which expects the deal to close next year, didn’t reveal any sales data for KKW Beauty. Shares of New York-based Coty rose more than 13% to close at $4.74 Monday.
It’s been a busy summer for Kardashian’s family. On Friday, her husband Kanye West announced a deal to design fashions for the Gap under his Yeezy brand. NVG
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