Düsseldorf, 26 March 2021. Douglas, Europe’s leading premium beauty platform, has successfully agreed a comprehensive refinancing package of €2.55 billion, providing a strong financial position for the next five years, from which the company can continue to deliver on its #FORWARDBEAUTY.DigitalFirst strategy.
The financing package comprises a €600 million senior secured term loan, €1,305 million of senior secured notes, €475 million of senior PIK notes and a €170 million revolving credit line. Douglas’s shareholders – the financial investor CVC and the Kreke family – have also underscored their commitment and continued support to the company by providing an additional €220 million of equity funding.
“We placed our entire financing structure on a solid and long-term foundation at an early stage,” CEO Tina Müller said. “Institutional investors and our owners are well aware of our operating performance as a digital enterprise with brick-and-mortar business. Douglas will consistently expand its potential as Europe’s leading beauty platform and continue to interlink its e-commerce and in-store operations. The new financing package will give Douglas more leeway to conduct its operative business and for strategic initiatives.”
The refinancing is expected to close on 8 April and the existing debt financing will be repaid in full at that time, in addition to ~€100 million of additional cash reserves being funded to the company’s balance sheet.
Douglas started the fiscal year 2020/21 with record growth in e-commerce, generating online sales growth of 74 percent to €433 million. In spite of the lockdowns across Europe, the Douglas Group generated sales of €1.2 billion in the first quarter, a decrease of only 7.1 percent (like-for-like) compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, in a market that was more than challenging. In Germany, sales were stable with a decline of only 3.3 percent (like-for-like). Based on the philosophy of DIGITAL FIRST, Douglas has begun in autumn 2020 to integrate its online shops, marketplace and retail stores into a digital, networked, data-based beauty platform. The aim of this transformation is to focus the company’s growth strategy on digital beauty retail.
ABOUT DOUGLAS:
Douglas is the leading premium beauty platform in Europe. Offering more than 130,000 beauty and lifestyle products in online shops, the beauty marketplace and over 2,000 stores, Douglas inspires customers to live their own kind of beauty by a previously unparalleled assortment. In 2021, Douglas achieved the Diversity Certification of the initiative BeyondGenderAgenda and represents diversity, equal opportunity and inclusion internally and externally. The continued expansion of the fast-growing e-commerce business is the focus of the #FORWARDBEAUTY.DigitalFirst strategy programme. In fiscal year 2019/2020, Douglas generated sales of 3.2 billion euros in the areas of perfumery, decorative cosmetics, skin and hair care as well as nutritional supplements and accessories.
CONTACT FOR INVESTOR RELATIONS:
Stefanie Steiner
Head of Investor Relations
Telephone: +49 (0) 211 16847 – 8594
E-mail: ir@douglas.de
MEDIA CONACT:
Eva Krüger
Corporate Communications Manager
Telephone: +49 (0) 211 16847 – 6644
E-mail: pr@douglas.de
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