Makeup co. to be sold to private equity firm

NEW YORK High-end makeup brand Stila Cosmetics is to be sold to private equity firm Patriarch Partners, according to published reports.

The New York-based firm is looking to acquire Stila from Wachovia Corp. and CIT Group for an undisclosed sum.

Glendale, Calif.-based Stila has changed hands several times over the past decade. Estee Lauder snapped up the brand from founder Jeanine Lobell in 1999, and then in 2006 sold it to Sun Capital Partners. Wachovia Corp. and CIT Group ended up taking over Stila through a foreclosure sale.