Trustar Capital, a private equity affiliate of CITIC Capital Holdings, announced on Tuesday that it has picked up a 100% stake in Sedona Enterprise Co., Ltd, a spin off from the Japanese skincare and medical cosmetics major Dr.Ci: Labo Co., Ltd.
The purchase was made through Trustar’s third Japanese buyout fund — a yen-denominated fund launched in 2004 that invests in Japanese medium-sized companies across consumer goods, services, and technology sectors.
The acquisition comes less than two months after Trustar made an undisclosed investment in the Chinese beauty and personal care player Yifei Group from its third yuan fund in April 2021.
CITIC Capital Holdings, set up in 2002, is a state-backed global alternative investment management and advisory giant with over $36 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Trustar Capital, which was formerly known as CITIC Capital Partners and was rebranded earlier this year, targets buyout investments globally.
With operations across China, Japan, US, and Europe, the firm which has $7.7 billion in assets under management (AUM) has completed more than 80 transactions including investments in Swiss-based medical technology firm MedAlliance and Chinese novel perfume and home fragrance brand RECLASSIFIED.
Additionally, along with Blue Sea Capital, it had sold shares in the US-based dental laboratory DDS Lab to RoundTable Healthcare Partners in February this year.
“Trustar Capital has a wealth of knowledge and business management know-how in the consumer sector, and a strong brand. In addition, we have an extensive network and resources in East Asia, and particularly in China. We will continue to add value to Sedona to accelerate its growth,” the firm said.
Sedona, which started operations in 2010 in Tokyo, runs non-medical hair salons and sells hair removal devices. The company has established a flagship brand Datsumo Labo, a specialist in hair removal treatment. As of now, it has over 50 salons across Japan.