Waldencast shrinks to Milk Makeup after $1.2 billion deal collapses
Waldencast has sold Obagi Medical and is now focused solely on Milk Makeup, which saw a steep revenue decline and is preparing to delist from Nasdaq.
Waldencast Acquisition Corp., created by former L’Oréal executives, completed a three-way merger in 2022 that bundled Obagi Medical and Milk Makeup into a $1.2 billion multibrand platform. In mid-2025 the company sold Obagi to private-equity firm Bridgepoint for up to $460 million, including earn-out payments, and also divested Obagi’s Japanese rights. Following the sale, senior leaders Brousset, Sebti and CFO Manuel Manfredi moved to Obagi, leaving Waldencast to manage only Milk Makeup.
The makeup brand’s first-half 2026 revenue dropped 57.1% to $26.1 million and it recorded an adjusted EBITDA loss of $14.8 million, prompting a $52.3 million goodwill impairment. Waldencast filed to delist from Nasdaq and will seek an over-the-counter ticker, while aiming to slash 80-90% of its $18.5 million central costs. Co-founders Mazdack Rassi and Zanna Roberts Rassi have returned to steer the brand’s creative direction as the company plans a possible rename to Milk Makeup plc.
Why it matters
The shift leaves Waldencast with a single struggling brand and highlights challenges in SPAC-driven beauty acquisitions.
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