Waldencast plc (MLKMF)

Waldencast plc is a global beauty and wellness holding company founded by Michel Brousset and Hind Sebti. It aims to build a multi-brand operating platform by developing, acquiring, accelerating and scaling purpose-driven, high-growth brands, using a brand-led, asset-light model. It began as a blank check company incorporated in December 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company, and in July 2022 it redomiciled to Jersey and completed a business combination with Obagi Medical and Milk Makeup. The company uses an "Up-C" structure: Waldencast LP holds the two businesses, and the Milk Makeup sellers retain LP units redeemable for Class A ordinary shares or cash. Waldencast is a foreign private issuer and files annual reports on Form 20-F.

The Professional Skincare segment is Obagi Medical, a medical-grade skincare brand with over 35 years of clinical research and more than 15 product franchises, spanning cosmetic, OTC and prescription products sold in over 95 countries. Its top-selling range is the prescription-based Obagi Nu-Derm System. Other lines include Professional-C, ELASTIderm, Nu-Cil and SUZANOBAGIMD, and 2025 launches included the Retinol + PHA Refining Night Cream. In July 2025 the company acquired Novaestiq Corp. and the rights to the Saypha line of hyaluronic acid injectable fillers. In 2026 it launched the Saypha, MagIQ and ChIQ fillers, with ChIQ still subject to FDA approval. Milk Makeup is the company's other brand, but the text provided gives no details of its products.

Obagi sells in the U.S. mainly through a direct sales force to physician-dispensing accounts, including dermatologists, plastic surgeons and medical spas. Non-prescription products are also sold through brand-controlled e-commerce sites, Amazon, other authorized e-retailers and a high-end beauty retailer. Internationally it sells through distributors on two- to five-year agreements, through wholly owned subsidiaries in four Southeast Asian countries (mostly Vietnam), and under licenses for China and Japan. In November 2025 it sold its Japanese trademarks and related rights to Rohto Pharmaceutical for $82.5 million. In China, Obagi Hong Kong has exclusive distribution rights and pays a 5.5% royalty on gross sales. Growth plans target Asia, Europe and South America.

Obagi outsources all manufacturing to third-party contract manufacturers that must comply with cGMP. Some products rely on a single source, and moving to a new manufacturer can take six to 18 months. Saypha is developed and manufactured in Austria by Croma-Pharma GmbH. The company holds a non-exclusive license to certain Allergan patents needed to commercialize Saypha in the U.S. It describes the aesthetic and therapeutic skin health market as highly competitive. At December 31, 2025 it had 364 full-time employees, 248 at Obagi Medical and 100 at Milk Makeup, plus three executive officers. Its principal executive office is in London, with leased offices in Long Beach, New York, Los Angeles and Texas, and its registered office is in St. Helier, Jersey.