American Exchange Group Acquires Indie Lee

The American Exchange Group (AEG) has acquired ‘clean’ American skincare brand Indie Lee, in a deal that aligns with AEG’s strategy of broadening its beauty portfolio, which includes previous acquisitions such as HatchCollective (now AX Beauty Brands). Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Josh Kirson, AEG’s senior vice president of new business development, emphasised the importance of this acquisition in terms of increased capital investment to expand Indie Lee’s market reach and enhance the brand’s messaging. A key goal for AEG is to speed up the development of new products, aiming to increase the frequency of Indie Lee’s product launches. “We can recapitalize this business, pay for clinical testing, source the correct ingredients under a condensed timeline, and be able to fill a specific white space,” Kirson told WWD.

Indie Lee was founded in 2010 by its eponymous creator after she recovered from brain tumour surgery—a pivotal moment that spurred her commitment to creating safe, toxin-free skincare products. Her experience brought a heightened awareness to the impacts skincare ingredients can have on health. Today, Indie Lee is known for its dedication to clean beauty, with popular products such as the Squalane Facial Oil, CoQ-10 Toner, and Brightening Cleanser, which are available globally and range in price from £15 to £125 ($16 to $135).

Speaking about the acquisition to WWD, Lee expressed, “What I love about this relationship is that [AEG] isn’t trying to change my brand; we’re just looking to amplify where we can go from here.”