Finally, it has been the French cosmetics giant L'Oréal that has taken the lead in the negotiations for the purchase of Aesop's shares. As advanced by the Anglo-Saxon fashion and beauty portal 'Business of Fashion', L'Oréal and Permira were leading the bidding for the acquisition of the brand owned by Natura & Co. This same Monday, 'Reuters' made official the acquisition of Aesop by L'Oréal for a figure that exceeds 2.5 billion dollars. 2.53 billion dollars is the amount for which this transaction has been resolved after a long negotiation process.
The acquisition, which is still subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023, according to Natura. As reported by Reuters, Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L'Oréal, said the French group will help Aesop gain a foothold in the Chinese market: "Aesop is taking advantage of all the current upward currents and L'Oréal will help unlock its huge growth potential, especially in China and in travel retail," he said
Some of the companies that have also sounded during this long time of offers and attempts to acquire the Australian luxury cosmetics brand have been the Japanese Shiseido or the Puig group. Even the family that runs Clarins SAS joined the bidding through Famille C Participations.
Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Natura & Co. announced its intention to sell in January and valued the transaction at around 2 billion dollars.