Chinese private equity firm Trustar Capital is in talks with multiple potential buyers for a potential exit of its portfolio company eBeauty, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

The Hangzhou-based beauty brand e-commerce service supplier, also known as UCO Cosmetics, has attracted some listed Chinese companies as potential buyers, according to two of the sources.

With no auction process in place, Trustar has not mandated any exclusive financial advisor and still welcomes buyer referrals, the two sources said.

Trustar, which owns about 44% of eBeauty, is expected to fetch around USD 600m-USD 800m for its stake, said the two sources.

This news service reported in March 2022 that Trustar mandated Deutsche Bank as sellside advisor to help exit its stake in eBeauty at a full enterprise value of USD 2bn, after the company’s Hong Kong IPO did not go ahead.

The company filed for a Hong Kong IPO in March 2021, with CITIC Securities and Credit Suisse acting as joint sponsors, as per Mergermarket data. According to its IPO prospectus, Trustar is the largest shareholder, followed by the founder, Executive Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chang Che-hang with a 19.02% stake.

The PE owner is unlikely to revive an IPO plan for eBeauty, according to the three sources.

Established in 2010, eBeauty provides one-stop omnichannel e-commerce network solutions for skincare and makeup brands, with more than 150 brand partners and an annual GMV (gross merchandise volume) exceeding USD 3bn, according to its website.

Trustar bought its stake in eBeauty for CNY 1.4bn in 2019 from Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry, according to the latter’s announcement at that time.

eBeauty’s comparable is Baozun, a NASDAQ and Hong Kong-listed e-commerce brand operation and service supplier, which trades with a market capitalization of USD 191m.

Trustar and eBeauty declined to comment.