Is Vogue selling its' Organix Hair Care brand?

31-Jan-2013 - Last updated on 31-Jan-2013 at 16:37 GMT

The brand of Florida-based hair care company, Vogue International is up for sale in a deal that could be worth $800 million or more, according to Reuters.

The international news agency reported that three sources informed its' reporters that Organix is being advised by Goldman Sachs on the potential sale, but have not revealed who, as the talks still remain private.

According to the sources, the brand comprised of shampoos, body washes and lotions is estimated to have $80 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and could make up to $800 million or more.

Reuters noted that suitable buyers indicated by those sources include French cosmetic giants L'Oreal, Unilever and Procter & Gamble and that “first-round bids for the company were due earlier this month.”

Unfortunately, representatives of the aforementioned brands and those at Vogue International were unavailable at the time of publishing to comment and Goldman is reported as declining to comment on the matter.

Organix caught up in organic furore

Back in 2011, the hair care brand found itself amongst companies facing a lawsuit filed by lobby group ‘Center for Environmental Health’, which claimed it was not complying with the California Organic Production Act (COPA), which states that products using the term ‘organic’ on its label should contain a minimum of 70 per cent organic certified ingredients.

Then, the CEH had claimed that some products being marketed as organic contained synthetic ingredients that have been associated with medical conditions and other related health problems.

Three specific products highlighted as being non-compliant with COPA included Organix, Namsate Laboratories Organic Rooty Stimulator and Strength of Nature Global Elasta QP hair care brand, which also uses the term 'organic' on its label.

Contrary to the formulation labels, it reckoned that Organix contained few to none organic ingredients, while the Namsate Laboratories and Natural Global Elasta products contained no organic ingredients at all.