Santa Barbara Hair Care Company Olaplex Expects $1 Billion in Revenue After IPO

The Company, Founded in 2014, Announced It Will Sell 67 Million Shares on Nasdaq

Olaplex, the hair care products company originally started in a UCSB grad student's garage, announced it is going public. | Credit: Courtesy

Olaplex, the hair-care products company originally started in a garage in Santa Barbara, announced on September 20 that its initial public offering could net up to $1 billion in sales when it hits the market.

The 67 million shares the company said it is offering are expected to be priced between $14 and $15 and will be listed on the Nasdaq under the name OLPX, though Olaplex has not announced any potential dates for the IPO.

The number is based on the midpoint of the expected price, but if shares reach the upper range, and factoring another 10 million shares in options, the offering could raise as much at $1.23 billion — raising the company’s market capitalization to over $10 billion.

Olaplex filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 27 and is currently under nearly 90 percent ownership of Advent International, who purchased the company from founders Dean and Darcy Christal in 2019 for an undisclosed amount. Advent is expected to sell less than 10 percent of its shares after the IPO and maintain majority ownership.

The company was originally founded in 2014 with the help of UCSB chemistry professor Craig Hawker and grad student Eric Pressly, who developed the ingredients that are used in its hair-care products.

The filing lists a Coast Village address, though the company operates completely remotely. The filing is being handled by Donnelley Financial Solutions, and the lead book-running managers for the IPO will be Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays.

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