THE WHAT? Essence Ventures has acquired Beautycon Media’s assets, with Beautycon CEO Moj Mahdara having resigned from her position earlier this year, according to a report by WWD.com. 

THE DETAILS The company was purchased out of foreclosure, with Beautycon having filed for an assignment for the benefit of creditors in May this year. 

Co-founder Marina Curry will return to the company as part of the buy-out. 

THE WHY? While in-person events have been put on hold over the past 18 months due to COVID-19 restrictions, Richelieu Dennis, Founder and Chair of Essence Ventures, told WWD he intends to continue Beautycon as an ‘experience business, whether virtual experiences or hybrid experiences.’ 

He continued, “The pandemic has impacted the live experience space in multiple ways,” Dennis said. “It has obviously hindered the ability for people to gather. It has also created a lot of energy and innovation around how people gather today. Whether it’s virtual experiences, hybrid experiences, all of those will be a part of the experience business going forward. With the technologies that we’ve put in place, we’ll be able to expound on the Beautycon ideals and values and continue upon the work that Beautycon has been doing these years.

“As we move further into a new normal, there’s tremendous opportunity to do these live and virtual experiences in a physical way that expands the reach that brings the inclusive nature of Beautycon to the globe, as well as localized,” Dennis continued. “We will have local as well as global expansion.”