Case Study · Beauty Brand Investment · 2018-Present

TPG Capital's 2018 minority investment in Anastasia Beverly Hills at a ~$3B valuation — and the harder commercial reality that followed

Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH), the beauty brand founded by Romanian-born brow specialist Anastasia Soare, sold a minority stake to TPG Capital in 2018 at a valuation reportedly around $3 billion — making it one of the most highly-valued private beauty brand investments of that era. According to industry coverage, TPG took an approximately 37% stake via approximately $600 million in preferred stock. Soare retained majority ownership and active operational involvement. The brand was a defining product of the 'big brows' Instagram-era beauty culture of the mid-2010s, with the patented 'Golden Ratio' brow-shaping method as its core IP. In subsequent years, ABH faced the harder commercial reality common to high-multiple Instagram-era beauty brands as the platform-economics and trends shifted; reporting through 2024 has documented TPG working through investment restructuring rather than realizing the original return thesis.

TL;DR — the quick read

Story: In 2018, TPG Capital took an approximately 37% minority stake in Anastasia Beverly Hills for about $600 million in preferred stock, valuing the brand near $3 billion. Founder Anastasia Soare kept majority ownership and stayed in active operating control. ABH was the defining brand of the Instagram-era 'big brows' moment, built around Soare's patented Golden Ratio Eyebrow Shaping Method. The years that followed turned out to be harder than the investment thesis assumed: brow aesthetics shifted, TikTok displaced Instagram, and industry reporting through 2024 has documented TPG working through investment-restructuring activity rather than realizing the original return thesis.
Why it matters: ABH-TPG is one of the cleanest examples of what happens when a high-multiple platform-era beauty deal collides with a platform shift. The brand IP was real, the founder stayed engaged, and the deal terms were widely viewed as smart at the time — yet the trajectory still diverged from the investor model. For anyone studying creator-led beauty M&A, the case is a reminder that brand strength and platform timing are separate variables, and that minority deals preserve founder control at the cost of restructuring flexibility.
Takeaway: TPG took ~37% for ~$600M in 2018 at a ~$3B valuation — Soare kept majority ownership and operational control.
Takeaway: Brands tied closely to a specific platform-era aesthetic need a transition plan before the platform or the aesthetic shifts; ABH did not get one in time.
Takeaway: Industry reporting through 2024 has documented TPG working through investment restructuring rather than realizing the original $3B-valuation thesis.

STAR framework

The ABH-TPG story in four steps

Situation

By 2018 ABH had become the defining brand of the Instagram 'big brows' era — high-profile collaborations, viral makeup-tutorial culture, color-saturated palettes, and a patented Golden Ratio brow-shaping method that anchored the IP. Capital markets for digitally-native beauty were hot, and ABH's brand equity was at a high-water mark.

Task

Soare wanted to take some capital off the table and bring in an institutional partner who could help with operational scale-up, while keeping majority ownership and creative control of the brand she had spent decades building.

Action

In June 2018, TPG Capital took an approximately 37% minority stake via approximately $600 million in preferred stock, valuing the brand near $3 billion. Soare retained majority ownership and active operational leadership. The deal was structured to preserve founder control rather than to give TPG room for a top-down operating overhaul.

Result

The years that followed were harder than the investment thesis assumed. Mainstream brow aesthetics shifted toward lighter, more natural looks; TikTok displaced Instagram as the primary beauty-discovery platform; competition intensified in the brow category. Industry reporting through 2024 has documented TPG working through investment-restructuring activity. ABH remains a meaningful brand, but the trajectory has not matched the original $3 billion-valuation thesis.

By the Numbers

Anastasia Beverly Hills at a glance

$0B

2018 valuation

Reported valuation at the TPG minority investment

Source: CNBC, May 8, 2018

$0M

TPG investment

Approximate preferred-stock investment from TPG Capital

Source: BeautyMatter / Private Equity Insights

TPG stake

Approximate minority stake taken by TPG

Source: Private Equity Insights

Deal closed

Announced June 2018; reported as nearing terms in May 2018 by CNBC

Source: TPG / Business Wire

Patented method

Anastasia Soare's patented brow-shaping technique built around the 1.618:1 proportion

Source: Anastasia Beverly Hills brand materials

Founder ownership

Anastasia Soare retained majority ownership and active operational involvement post-investment

Source: TPG press release, June 2018

Quick facts

CompanyAnastasia Beverly Hills (privately held)

FounderAnastasia Soare (Romanian-born; based in Beverly Hills)

Investment year2018 (announced June 2018)

InvestorTPG Capital (minority stake)

Investment size~$600 million in preferred stock

Reported stake~37% (per industry coverage)

Valuation~$3 billion at the time of investment (per CNBC, May 2018)

Founder controlAnastasia Soare retained majority ownership and active operational involvement post-investment

Patented techniqueGolden Ratio Eyebrow Shaping Method

Brand category positionIconic brow products; broader brand expanded into lips, eyes, complexion, etc.

Brand cultural momentDefining brand of the 'big brows' Instagram-era beauty culture mid-2010s

Honest note

Specific ABH annual revenue figures cited in earlier drafts have been removed pending verification. ABH is privately held and does not publish audited financial statements. The $3 billion valuation, ~$600 million TPG investment, and ~37% stake figures are from industry coverage (CNBC, BeautyMatter, Private Equity Insights) and are consistent across sources, but the exact stake percentage and any subsequent TPG restructuring activity should be cross-checked with TPG's own filings or Soare's recent public communications. Industry coverage has documented TPG working through investment-restructuring in subsequent years as the brand's growth trajectory diverged from the original investment thesis, but specific restructuring terms have not been publicly disclosed.

The 2018 TPG investment at a ~$3 billion valuation

In May 2018, CNBC reported that TPG Capital was nearing a deal to take a minority stake in Anastasia Beverly Hills at a valuation that could reach $3 billion. The transaction was announced in June 2018: TPG took an approximately 37% minority stake via approximately $600 million in preferred stock. Founder Anastasia Soare retained majority ownership and continued as active operational leader. The deal was one of the most highly-valued private beauty brand investments of the late-2010s — a period characterized by hot capital markets for digitally-native beauty brands riding Instagram-era cultural moments. ABH at the time was the defining brand of the 'big brows' Instagram beauty era, with viral imagery, celebrity endorsements, and a patented Golden Ratio brow-shaping technique that Soare had spent years promoting.

What ABH had built

Anastasia Soare had immigrated from Romania and built her business starting from brow-shaping services at a Beverly Hills salon. Over time, she developed and patented the 'Golden Ratio Eyebrow Shaping Method' — a mathematically-derived approach to shaping brows around facial proportions — and translated that technique into a line of brow-shaping products that became iconic in the beauty industry. ABH expanded from brows into adjacent categories (lips, eyes, complexion, palette products), with high-profile collaborations and a strong celebrity-endorsement culture. The Instagram-era marketing playbook — celebrity collaborations, viral makeup tutorials, color-saturated palettes — was where ABH thrived. The 2018 TPG investment was the financial validation of that build.

The harder commercial reality after 2018

The post-2018 period has been harder for ABH than the TPG investment thesis assumed. Industry reporting through 2024 has documented TPG working through investment-restructuring activity — consistent with the broader pattern of Instagram-era beauty brand investments where high valuations in 2017-2019 did not translate into the commercial trajectories investors had modeled. Several structural factors made this period harder: the 'big brows' aesthetic that ABH had been so associated with shifted in mainstream beauty culture toward more natural, lighter brow looks; TikTok displaced Instagram as the primary social-platform driver for beauty discovery, requiring different content strategies; competition intensified as new brow brands and broader makeup brands entered the category. ABH continued operating as a meaningful brand but the trajectory did not match the original investment thesis. Anastasia Soare remained engaged operationally throughout.

Why the case is studied

The ABH-TPG case has become a reference point for the broader question of how Instagram-era beauty brands have transitioned (or not) as the platform-economics shift. Several other brands in the same category — Drunk Elephant (later acquired by Shiseido), Charlotte Tilbury, Glossier — have faced structurally similar challenges of monetizing the brand-equity built during a hot platform moment. ABH's specific position has the additional complexity of founder-versus-investor dynamics: Anastasia Soare retained majority ownership and active operational role, which limits how aggressively a minority investor like TPG can restructure the brand. The case shows that even strong brands built on real IP (the Golden Ratio shaping method, an iconic brow-product portfolio) can struggle with later-stage value creation when the cultural and platform context that supported their growth evolves.

Frequently asked questions

How much did TPG pay for its Anastasia Beverly Hills stake?

Industry coverage reports TPG paid approximately $600 million for an approximately 37% minority stake in 2018, at a valuation that could reach $3 billion. CNBC's May 2018 reporting described the deal as nearing finalization; the transaction was announced in June 2018. Anastasia Soare retained majority ownership and active operational involvement.

Is Anastasia Soare still in charge of ABH?

Yes — Anastasia Soare retained majority ownership through the 2018 TPG transaction and continued as active operational leader. TPG's stake is a minority position. The structural arrangement gives Soare substantial discretion over brand direction and operational decisions.

What is the Golden Ratio Eyebrow Shaping Method?

Anastasia Soare's patented technique for shaping brows. The method is built on the proposition that ideal brow shape follows the same mathematical proportion (golden ratio, approximately 1.618:1) that has historically been considered aesthetically pleasing in art and architecture. The technique is the foundational IP that ABH's brand was built around, distinguishing the company from generic brow products and giving Soare's professional services and product line a unique-claim positioning.

How has ABH performed since the 2018 investment?

Industry reporting through 2024 has documented TPG working through investment restructuring, consistent with the broader pattern of Instagram-era beauty brand investments where high 2017-2019 valuations didn't translate into modeled returns. Several factors made this period harder: the 'big brows' aesthetic shifted toward more natural looks; TikTok displaced Instagram as the primary social platform for beauty discovery; competition intensified. ABH continues as a meaningful brand but has not matched the original $3 billion-valuation trajectory.

What can other brand-builders learn from this case?

Two structural lessons. First, brands built around platform-specific cultural moments need transition strategies before the platform or trend shifts — Instagram-era beauty brands that didn't adapt to TikTok had structural headwinds. Second, even strong brand IP (a patented technique, iconic products, real celebrity following) doesn't guarantee value creation through founder-investor structures — minority investments preserve founder control but also limit the changes a financial investor can drive when trends shift. The case underlines how much luck and timing matter to brand-equity monetization, not just the underlying brand quality.

Sources & references

TPG Capital nears stake in Anastasia Beverly Hills that could value company at $3 billion (CNBC, May 8, 2018) — CNBC reporting the deal terms before announcement.
TPG Capital Partners with Anastasia Beverly Hills (TPG official announcement, June 2018) — TPG's primary source for the investment announcement.
TPG Capital Partners with Anastasia Beverly Hills (Business Wire press release) — Wire-service distribution of the deal announcement.
TPG Capital makes minority investment in Anastasia Beverly Hills (BeautyMatter) — Industry trade press coverage with category context.
TPG reworks $600m Anastasia Beverly Hills investment through restructuring (Private Equity Insights) — Coverage of the post-2018 investment-restructuring activity.
TPG Capital acquires minority stake in Anastasia Beverly Hills (Cosmetics Business) — Trade press coverage of the announcement.