Celebrity-Owned Brands That Got Acquired: From Beats to Honest Company

When Famous Founders Cash Out

Celebrity-owned brands have become a major force in consumer goods. From beauty lines to spirits brands to tech products, famous names attract consumers, investors, and eventually acquirers. But what happens when a celebrity brand gets bought by a corporation? Does the founder stay involved? Does the brand change? And who really profits?

This article tracks the most significant celebrity brand acquisitions, examines the deals, and explores what happened after the sale.

The Biggest Celebrity Brand Acquisitions

Beats by Dr. Dre - Sold to Apple for $3 Billion (2014)

Founders: Dr. Dre (Andre Young) and Jimmy Iovine Acquirer: Apple Deal value: $3 billion (cash + stock)

The Beats acquisition remains the gold standard for celebrity brand exits. Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine built Beats Electronics from a headphone startup in 2006 into a cultural phenomenon. By 2014, Beats held approximately 27% of the U.S. headphone market and had launched Beats Music, a streaming service.

Apple acquired Beats for $3 billion, making Dr. Dre one of the wealthiest figures in hip-hop. The deal brought Apple three things: the Beats hardware brand, the Beats Music streaming technology (which became Apple Music), and the talent of Iovine and Dre.

What happened after: Beats continues as a separate brand within Apple, targeting style-conscious and bass-loving consumers. Apple kept the brand alive rather than absorbing it into the Apple product line. Both Dre and Iovine eventually transitioned away from day-to-day Apple roles.

Kylie Cosmetics - 51% Sold to Coty for $600 Million (2020)

Founder: Kylie Jenner Acquirer: Coty Inc. (NYSE: COTY) Deal value: $600 million for 51% stake (valuing the brand at ~$1.2 billion)

Kylie Jenner launched Kylie Cosmetics in 2015 with the Kylie Lip Kit. The brand exploded through social media marketing, leveraging Jenner's massive Instagram following. In 2019, Coty acquired a 51% controlling stake for $600 million.

What happened after: The partnership has been rocky. Coty wrote down the value of its Kylie Cosmetics investment, and reported revenue fell below initial projections. The brand has faced increased competition in the direct-to-consumer beauty space. Jenner remains the face of the brand but Coty controls business operations. The acquisition is widely cited as a cautionary tale about overpaying for celebrity brand hype.

The Honest Company - IPO, Then Struggles (2021)

Founder: Jessica Alba IPO: May 2021 at $16/share, valuing the company at ~$1.4 billion Current status: Publicly traded (NASDAQ: HNST), share price significantly below IPO level

Jessica Alba co-founded The Honest Company in 2011, selling natural baby products and household goods. The brand resonated with health-conscious parents and grew rapidly. Honest went public in May 2021.

What happened after: Post-IPO, Honest faced challenges including slowing growth, increased competition, and operational issues. The stock declined significantly from its IPO price. The company has worked to refocus on its core baby and beauty products. Alba remains involved as a co-founder and board member but stepped back from daily operations.

Aviation Gin - Sold to Diageo for $610 Million (2020)

Celebrity partner: Ryan Reynolds Acquirer: Diageo (LON: DGE) Deal value: Up to $610 million (including earnout provisions)

Ryan Reynolds acquired a stake in Aviation American Gin in 2018 and became its primary spokesperson and creative force. His irreverent marketing campaigns went viral, driving significant sales growth. Diageo, the world's largest spirits company, acquired Aviation in 2020.

What happened after: Aviation Gin has continued to grow under Diageo's global distribution network. Reynolds earned an estimated $275+ million from the deal. He later applied the same playbook to Mint Mobile (sold to T-Mobile for $1.35 billion in 2023, in which Reynolds was an investor and spokesperson). Reynolds has become the model for celebrity brand-building: authentic involvement, creative marketing, and well-timed exit.

Honest Tea - Sold to Coca-Cola (Fully Acquired 2011)

Founder: Seth Goldman Acquirer: Coca-Cola Deal value: Coca-Cola acquired a 40% stake in 2008, then the remaining 60% in 2011

While not a traditional "celebrity" brand, Honest Tea's story illustrates how mission-driven brands get absorbed by corporations. Seth Goldman built Honest Tea as an organic, fair-trade beverage brand. Coca-Cola acquired it gradually.

What happened after: Coca-Cola discontinued Honest Tea in 2022, replacing it with a reformulated "Honest" brand of juice drinks. Goldman publicly criticized the decision, calling it a betrayal of the brand's mission. The incident highlighted the risk that acquired brands face when their values conflict with the acquiring company's priorities.

Dollar Shave Club - Sold to Unilever for $1 Billion (2016)

Founder: Michael Dubin Acquirer: Unilever Deal value: $1 billion

Dollar Shave Club disrupted the razor market with its viral 2012 YouTube video ("Our Blades Are F***ing Great") and subscription model. Unilever acquired the company for $1 billion in 2016, partly as a competitive response to P&G's Gillette.

What happened after: Dollar Shave Club struggled under Unilever ownership. The subscription model faced competition from Amazon, Walmart, and other retailers entering the direct-to-consumer razor space. Dubin departed as CEO in 2021. Unilever sold Dollar Shave Club to Nexus Capital Management in 2023, reportedly at a significant loss on its $1 billion investment.

George Clooney's Casamigos - Sold to Diageo for $1 Billion (2017)

Founders: George Clooney, Rande Gerber, Mike Meldman Acquirer: Diageo (LON: DGE) Deal value: $700 million upfront + $300 million in earnouts

George Clooney and Rande Gerber founded Casamigos Tequila in 2013. The brand grew rapidly in the premium tequila segment and was acquired by Diageo for up to $1 billion in 2017.

What happened after: Casamigos has continued to thrive under Diageo's ownership and distribution. The brand has become one of the top-selling premium tequilas in the United States. Unlike some celebrity brand acquisitions, Casamigos is considered a clear success for both the founders and the acquirer.

The LVMH/Fenty Situation

Rihanna's Fenty Beauty, launched in partnership with LVMH in 2017, became one of the most successful celebrity beauty brands ever. The brand generates approximately $450-600 million in annual revenue and is valued at $1-3 billion.

In October 2025, Reuters reported that LVMH was exploring a sale of its 50% stake in Fenty Beauty. If a sale materializes, it would represent one of the largest celebrity beauty brand transactions in history. Rihanna retains the other 50% and the brand bears her name.

Meanwhile, LVMH shuttered Fenty (the fashion house, separate from Fenty Beauty) in 2021 after lackluster sales, demonstrating that even the most powerful celebrity names do not guarantee success in every category.

Patterns in Celebrity Brand Acquisitions

What makes celebrity brands attractive to acquirers?

Built-in audience. Celebrity founders bring millions of social media followers who serve as a ready-made marketing channel.

Cultural relevance. Celebrity brands can reach demographics that traditional corporate brands struggle to connect with.

Authentic story. The founder's personal story provides marketing narrative that corporate brands cannot replicate.

Proven product-market fit. By the time of acquisition, successful celebrity brands have demonstrated consumer demand.

What goes wrong after acquisition?

Founder departure. Many celebrity founders lose interest or are pushed out after the acquisition. Without the founder's creative energy and authenticity, the brand can lose its edge.

Corporate bureaucracy. Nimble celebrity startups struggle under the processes, approvals, and committee-driven decision-making of large corporations.

Mission drift. Mission-driven brands (Honest Tea, Dollar Shave Club) can lose their identity when absorbed into a corporation with different priorities.

Overvaluation. Acquirers sometimes overpay for the hype around a celebrity brand, only to discover that growth projections were unrealistic.

The Scorecard

Frequently Asked Questions

Which celebrity brand sale was the most successful?

Beats by Dr. Dre, sold to Apple for $3 billion in 2014. The brand continues to thrive under Apple ownership and generated far more than $3 billion in value for Apple through both hardware sales and the Apple Music streaming service that was built on Beats Music technology.

Do celebrities stay involved after selling their brands?

It varies. Some (like Rihanna with Fenty Beauty) remain deeply involved. Others (like Michael Dubin with Dollar Shave Club) eventually depart. Acquisition agreements often include earn-out provisions and consulting contracts that keep founders involved for a transition period.

Are celebrity brands overvalued?

Sometimes. Coty's write-down of Kylie Cosmetics and Unilever's loss on Dollar Shave Club suggest that acquirers can overpay for celebrity brand hype. However, deals like Beats and Casamigos demonstrate that the right celebrity brand at the right price can be an excellent acquisition.

Which celebrity brands might be acquired next?

Rihanna's Fenty Beauty (LVMH exploring its stake sale) is the most prominent near-term possibility. Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty (valued at ~$1.2 billion) and Kim Kardashian's SKIMS (valued at ~$4 billion) are also frequently mentioned as potential acquisition targets.

The Bottom Line

Celebrity-owned brands have become a significant part of the consumer goods landscape, and their acquisitions reveal important dynamics about brand value, corporate strategy, and the risks of founder-dependent businesses. The best outcomes occur when the acquiring company maintains the brand's authentic identity while providing scale, distribution, and operational support. The worst outcomes happen when corporate parents strip away what made the brand special in the first place.

Explore brand ownership and acquisition history on WhoBrands or browse brands by category.

Sources

1. Reuters. "LVMH Explores Sale of Fenty Beauty Stake." October 2025. 2. Finance Monthly. "Top 10 Celebrity-Owned Companies Ranked by 2025 Revenue." 3. Celebrity Beauty Brand Market Share Overview. 2025. 4. Apple Inc. "Beats Acquisition." Press release, May 2014. 5. Diageo. "Aviation Gin and Casamigos Acquisitions." Press releases.

All brand ownership data verified through WhoBrands.com's research methodology. Last updated: February 6, 2026.