Filing Flows › e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) › Takeover & LBO
Is e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($145.20 a share) would return about 2% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; the most a buyer could pay for a 20% return is $73.79 a share (−34% against today's $111.69). Historically 5.8% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.16× the average).
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $145.20 | today's $111.69 plus 30% |
| × shares | 60.1 million | |
| = Equity value | $8.7B | |
| + Debt refinanced | $827M | |
| − Cash | $351M | |
| = Enterprise value | $9.2B | 34.1× EBITDA of $270M |
| Fees | $184M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $1.5B | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $7.9B | 84% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $2.1B | $292M | $114M | $127M | $1.4B |
| Year 2 | $2.2B | $311M | $104M | $151M | $1.2B |
| Year 3 | $2.4B | $329M | $92.4M | $174M | $1.0B |
| Year 4 | $2.5B | $343M | $79.1M | $196M | $838M |
| Year 5 | $2.5B | $353M | $64.1M | $217M | $621M |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 26.6× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $9.4B | |
| − Debt left | $621M | |
| = Buyer's equity | $8.8B | |
| Money multiple | 1.11× | on $7.9B put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | 2.1% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $111.69; the IRR reaches 20% at $73.79 a share.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $122.86 | 6.1% |
| 20% | $134.03 | 4.0% |
| 30% | $145.20 | 2.1% |
| 40% | $156.37 | 0.4% |
| 50% | $167.53 | −1.1% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $1.9B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $270M | 13.9% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $98.0M | |
| Capital spending | $12.5M | |
| Debt | $827M | |
| Cash | $351M | |
| Share price | $111.69 | on Oct 30, 2026 |
Fixed rules, the same as the interactive view's starting point: the shares are bought at today's price plus 30%, the company's debt is refinanced and fees take 2%. New debt is the least of 5.5× EBITDA, 65% of the price and the amount whose interest EBITDA covers 2 times, at 7.65% a year (SOFR 3.89% plus the high-yield B spread 3.26% plus 0.5%, rates of Oct 15, 2026). Revenue grows 8.0% in the first year — the company's own rate, held between −3% and +8% — fading to 3% by year 5; the EBITDA margin, depreciation and capital spending stay at today's share of revenue; working capital takes 10% of each year's added revenue; tax is 30% of profit after interest. Every dollar of free cash flow repays debt. After 5 years the buyer sells at today's multiple of EBITDA.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, e.l.f. Beauty would cost about $147.99 a share, $8.9B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $134.03 | $8.1B |
| Median | 32.5% | $147.99 | $8.9B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $169.55 | $10.2B |
The odds, from history
Historically 5.8% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.16× the average). Its figures put it in decile 7 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
e.l.f. Beauty's latest quarter
e.l.f. Beauty, Q2 FY27: revenue $521M (+51% year over year), operating margin 10.1%, net earnings $30.0M, operating cash flow $14.6M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is e.l.f. Beauty being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy e.l.f. Beauty?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($145.20 a share) would return about 2% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; the most a buyer could pay for a 20% return is $73.79 a share (−34% against today's $111.69).
What would a takeover of e.l.f. Beauty cost?
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, e.l.f. Beauty would cost about $147.99 a share, $8.9B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.