Olaplex’s share price has soared following rumours that it is the target of an alleged takeover by German consumer goods giant Henkel.
The bond-building hair care brand’s stock jumped as much as 36% in trading on 7 January after Bloomberg reported that Henkel had allegedly submitted a takeover offer, citing people with knowledge of the matter as sources.
Founded in 2014, Olaplex was acquired by private-equity firm Advent in 2019, and went public in a listing on New York’s Nasdaq Stock Exchange in September 2021.
Priced at US$21 per share at its initial public offering (IPO), Olaplex stock has fallen around 90% and was trading at $1.66 at yesterday’s (8 January) market close.
The hair care brand has struggled amid growing competition in the science-focused hair and scalp care market.
In February 2025, the brand launched its ‘Bonds and Beyond’ strategy to get the business back on track, focused on three pillars – generating brand demand, harnessing innovation and executing with excellence.
In Olaplex’s most recent financial update in November 2025, the company said sales fell 3.8% to $114.6m in the third quarter of the fiscal year.
However, that beat the company’s expectations and analyst forecasts.
Olaplex expects full year sales of between $410m and $431m. In 2024, sales were $422.7m.\
Henkel owns a number of hair care brands, including Schwarzkopf, got2b and LIVE.
In 2024, the consumer goods company acquired Vidal Sassoon’s Chinese business from P&G.
Henkel told Cosmetics Business it does not comment on speculation or market rumors, and Olaplex had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.