Advent Reaches 8% of Natura, Winning Two Seats on the Beauty Group’s Board
Companies
Key Facts
—The threshold. Advent has reached an 8% economic position in Natura, Brazil’s biggest cosmetics maker.
—The holding. It owns 90,676,500 shares, or 6.6%, plus 1.4% through derivatives.
—The prize. The 8% mark lets Advent name two members to Natura’s board.
—The size. The full 8% to 10% purchase is worth between R$1bn and R$1.34bn ($180m–$242m).
—The changing of the guard. Natura’s three founders are leaving the board after decades in control.
—The method. Advent is buying shares on the open market, not from the founders directly.
A quiet but telling shift in Brazilian business has just crossed a line. The Natura Advent tie-up reached its trigger point on Thursday, handing a global private-equity firm real influence over one of Latin America’s best-known consumer brands.
Natura told the market that Advent International, a large United States buyout firm, had reached an eight percent stake in the company. That is the level the two sides agreed would earn Advent the right to appoint two directors.
For a reader abroad, the short version is simple. A famous Brazilian cosmetics group, long run by its founders, is opening its boardroom to outside professional investors for the first time.
What the Natura Advent deal actually does
The numbers behind the milestone are precise. In a filing to Brazil’s securities regulator, Natura said Advent’s fund now holds just over ninety million shares, equal to about six and a half percent of the company.
A further slice comes from derivatives. Advent holds contracts tied to another one and a half percent of the stock, which lifts its total economic exposure to roughly eight percent.
That eight percent figure is the one that counts. Under the agreement struck earlier this year, hitting it lets the firm nominate two seats on a board that today has eight members.
There are limits on that power. Advent gets no veto over company decisions and no duty to vote alongside the founding families, except on matters of who sits on the board and its committees.
Why the founders are stepping back
The bigger story is a generational handover. Natura’s three founders, Luiz Seabra, Guilherme Leal and Pedro Passos, are giving up their board seats to move to a new advisory body with no decision-making power.
The chairman is changing too. Fábio Barbosa, a former chief executive, is handing the role to Alessandro Carlucci, a veteran who spent more than two decades inside the company.
The families are not selling their own shares. They keep a combined stake of nearly thirty-nine percent, locked into a fresh ten-year shareholder pact, and Advent is buying entirely from other holders in the market.
Company officials frame the shift as a clean break. They describe it as the end of a long simplification phase and the start of a new growth cycle centred on Latin America.
Live Company IntelligenceNatura Cosmeticos S.A. — the full investor dossier
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The turnaround Advent is buying into
Advent is stepping in after a brutal decade for Natura. The group spent years buying global brands, then years unwinding them, and the whiplash battered its share price.
The retreat is now nearly complete. Natura sold Aesop to L’Oréal, offloaded The Body Shop, and handed most of Avon’s overseas business to another buyer for a token sum, refocusing on Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
The early results have turned positive. The company swung back to a profit in its most recent full-year accounts, and its shares have climbed sharply as investors bet the worst is behind it.
Advent is not new to the sector at home. The firm already controls Skala, a leading Brazilian hair-care brand, giving its dealmakers direct experience of the country’s crowded beauty market.
The price tag signals conviction. Buying the agreed eight to ten percent on the open market is expected to cost between one billion and roughly one and a third billion reais, at an average target near ten reais a share.
For investors watching from outside Brazil, the read-through is about validation. When a disciplined buyout firm pays market prices to sit on the board of a recovering brand, it is a wager that the recovery is real and has further to run.
What does the Natura Advent stake involve?
Advent International has built an eight percent economic position in Natura, made up of about six and a half percent in shares and one and a half percent through derivatives. Reaching eight percent lets Advent nominate two members to Natura‘s board of directors, though it gains no veto over company decisions.
Are the founders selling their shares?
The founders are not selling: Luiz Seabra, Guilherme Leal and Pedro Passos keep a combined stake of nearly thirty-nine percent under a new ten-year shareholder agreement, while Advent buys its shares from other holders on the open market.
Why does the deal matter for investors?
A respected private-equity firm paying market prices for a board role signals confidence in Natura’s turnaround after years of losses and divestments. It also marks a shift from founder control toward professional governance at one of Latin America’s best-known consumer brands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly does Advent International now own in Natura?
Advent holds about 6.6% of Natura in shares (90,676,500 shares) plus another 1.4% through derivatives, giving it a total economic position of 8%. That 8% threshold is what earns Advent the right to name two members to Natura's eight-person board.
Are Natura's founders selling their shares to Advent?
No — the three founders (Luiz Seabra, Guilherme Leal and Pedro Passos) are keeping their combined stake of nearly 39%, locked into a new ten-year shareholder agreement. Advent is buying its shares entirely from other holders on the open market.
How much is Advent paying for its stake in Natura?
Buying between 8% and 10% of Natura on the open market is expected to cost between R$1 billion and R$1.34 billion, which works out to roughly $180 million to $242 million.
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