Doug Jacob

Doug Jacob · Morphe

Portfolio · Operating partner since 2023

Morphe

Morphe's parent company, Forma Brands, was acquired out of Chapter 11 in April 2023 by an investor group of &vest, Jefferies Finance and funds managed by Cerberus Capital Management; Doug Jacob, Co-Founder & CEO of &vest, has served as Morphe's operating partner since.

The 2023 acquisition

Forma Brands filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on January 12, 2023, a week after closing all 18 of Morphe's U.S. stores. Its secured lenders, Jefferies Finance as agent with funds managed by Cerberus, provided financing through the case and signed a stalking-horse agreement to acquire the wholesale, online and international operations.

No competing bids emerged. Bloomberg, in a report carried by the Business of Fashion on March 29, 2023, put the consideration at about $690 million, structured as debt relief rather than cash. The sale closed on April 11, 2023; the buyer group named in the closing announcement was Jefferies Finance LLC, funds managed by Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., FB Intermediate Holdings, LLC and &vest. The reorganized company kept Morphe, Morphe 2 and Born Dreamer.

&vest assumed operational control. At emergence, Cliff Moskowitz, an &vest partner and former CEO of Outdoor Voices, was named chief executive of Forma Brands; Simon Cowell, president since 2019, later succeeded him. Jacob's role throughout has been operating partner.

What changed under &vest

The diagnosis was that Morphe had become an influencer business with a makeup line attached. Speaking to WWD the day after the sale closed, Jacob framed the task as putting the product back at the center of the brand.

This brand deserves to stand on its own just like other great brands.

Doug Jacob, WWD, April 12, 2023

The reset ran on several fronts. The portfolio was consolidated around Morphe and new brand incubation was stopped. The executive team was rebuilt; by 2025 the company had a new chief financial officer, chief commercial officer, global supply chain officer, and chief legal and people officer. Product development shifted from limited-edition collaborations to a replenishable, higher-margin pipeline: the first launch under the new owners, Continuous Prep & Set Mist+, reached Ulta Beauty in June 2023, and by 2025 the brand had introduced three franchise launches, with the Sudden Heat bronzer stick, Cheek Thrills face trio and Hot Honeys lip oil among the products trade press singled out. Influencers are still used, as paid and seeded marketing rather than as the brand's identity.

The word 'bankruptcy' is scary to the outside, but it's really a clean reset.

Doug Jacob, Glossy, May 30, 2023

Under &vest's operating playbook the supply chain was consolidated from five third-party logistics nodes and order fill rates rose from 56 percent to above 95 percent. Reported results followed: Beauty Independent cited a 33 percent year-to-date sales increase in May 2025, and BeautyMatter reported mid-single-digit comparable growth in 2024 and sales up 38 percent year over year as of mid-2025.

Distribution and retail

Morphe left bankruptcy with no U.S. stores and a distribution model built on Ulta Beauty, its own e-commerce site and a small number of international stores. Since then distribution has been extended within Ulta and widened to new channels: the brand launched on Amazon in 2024, and in January 2026 Target named Morphe among more than 60 brands added to its spring beauty assortment.

Coverage

Related

Doug Jacob &vest andvest.co morphe.com