Recently, South Korean medical aesthetics company Classys Inc., majority-owned by Bain Capital, has acquired JL Health Participacoes S.A., Brazil’s biggest beauty device retailer, for 18.27 billion won ($13 million). The strategic acquisition aims to strengthen Classys’s direct sales network in South America—one of its largest overseas markets—and further accelerate its global expansion.
Following the deal, Classys now holds a 77.5% stake in JL Health Participacoes, after the spin-off of the retailer’s non-beauty-related operations. The all-cash transaction also includes the acquisition of JL Health’s two subsidiaries and grants Classys a call option to acquire the remaining 22.5% stake in the future.
Founded in 2007, Classys has become a global player in non-invasive beauty technology, best known for its Shurink Universe, a flagship device utilizing high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for skin tightening. The company currently dominates over half of South Korea’s HIFU treatment device market.
The acquisition follows Bain Capital’s previously unsuccessful attempt to divest its stake in Classys, which had attracted interest from private equity giants including KKR, Carlyle Group, and Hillhouse Capital. Bain Capital originally acquired Classys in 2022 for 670 billion won, marking its third investment in a Korean beauty company amid the worldwide surge in K-beauty demand. The firm has since sold a 6% stake via a block trade to partially recover its investment.
Driven by the growing global appetite for K-beauty—fueled by the popularity of K-pop and Korean dramas—Classys has demonstrated strong financial momentum. In the first half of this year, it reported an operating profit of 82.2 billion won, up from 57.7 billion won a year earlier, while sales surged to 160.4 billion won from 109.1 billion won in the same period of 2024.
