Carlyle to invest in haircare product maker Vogue

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but people familiar with the matter told Reuters a year ago that Vogue, which was marketing itself to potential buyers at the time with the help of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, could be valued at $800 million or more.

“Carlyle will work with Vogue’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Todd Christopher and his team to continue expanding the brand and building the business globally,” the Washington, D.C.-based buyout firm said in a statement.

Founded in 1987, Clearwater, Florida-based Vogue sells its shampoos, body washes and lotions in retailers including Walmart Stores Inc, Walgreens Co, Target Corp and Safeway Inc.

Besides Organix, Vogue also owns the FX Special Effects line of hair styling and treatment products and the iWater Shower Purification System.

Private equity firms are increasingly seeking to partner with U.S. companies rather than buying them outright, as they struggle to find ways to put their huge piles of money to work at a time when frothy markets have made takeovers expensive. 

Carlyle, which raised a $13 billion U.S. buyout fund last year, also agreed to invest $500 million last September for a minority stake in Beats Electronics LLC, the headphones company co-founded by rapper Dr. Dre. 

Greg Roumeliotis and Olivia Oran are reporters for Reuters News in New York