PTA Partners to acquire 70% stake in COSBELLE
This represents a meaningful value-up consulting case where private equity organically connects capital markets and industry.
FRANCE – South Korean private equity firm PTA Partners has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to acquire a 70% controlling stake in French premium cosmetics manufacturer COSBELLE, marking the first acquisition of a French cosmetics producer by a South Korean investment fund.
The total enterprise value is approximately 60 billion won (USD 40 million), with PTA Partners planning an additional investment of about 10 billion won and forming a project fund of at least 50 billion won to finance the transaction.
The company is currently conducting final due diligence and aims to finalize a definitive agreement in the third quarter of 2026, while marketing to major domestic institutional investors to secure financing.
COSBELLE, headquartered in the Provence region of France and founded in 1971, has built unrivalled strengths in organic and natural cosmetics manufacturing over five decades.
The company specializes as a French organic and premium cosmetics ODM, focusing on organic skincare formulations with Ecocert and other organic certifications, and serves luxury fashion brands and premium spa networks.
After the company’s 2019 spin-off, COSBELLE’s current management acquired control and elevated both technological capabilities and scale.
The acquisition drew strong interest from multiple Korean investors, including strategic investors Cosmax and Cosmecca Korea, which conducted on-site due diligence, as well as early-stage reviewers Goodai Global and Kolmar Korea.
PTA Partners ultimately prevailed by presenting the most concrete value-up blueprint, with France-born Korean CEO Kim Seok-won bringing strengths in local French networks that helped secure the deal.
PTA Partners’ acquisition reflects K-Beauty’s evolving global strategy, moving beyond exports to owning premium Western manufacturing assets.
The core collaboration strategy connects Made in France’s premium manufacturing infrastructure with K-beauty’s accumulated global assets, combining Korean biotechnology and ingredient innovation with French manufacturing expertise, while adding Korea’s capital strength and planning capabilities to France’s traditional beauty powerhouse manufacturing base.
Following the acquisition, PTA Partners plans to retain COSBELLE’s existing management team while introducing South Korean smart-factory technologies to improve operational efficiency.
The company will use COSBELLE’s European and North American distribution network as a platform to help Korean indie beauty brands expand internationally, produce domestic Korean beauty brands at COSBELLE’s French ODM factory to further upgrade products, and re-export French-made cosmetics to massive global markets, including China, the United States, and Europe, that prefer French cosmetics.
The firm also aims to form a partnership with its review of acquisitions in domestic beauty brands, including the globally recognized Dr. Jart+.
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