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L’Oréal to acquire Aesop in USD2.5 billion deal

L’Oréal has signed a deal to acquire the Australian luxury beauty brand Aesop from Natura & Co, the Brazilian cosmetics group which owns Avon International, Natura, and The Body Shop. The transaction values Aesop at USD2.525 billion, subject to customary regulatory approvals and expected to close in the third quarter of 2023.

SEE ALSO: LVMH, Shiseido, L’Oréal seek stake in Australia’s Aesop 

Founded in 1987, Aesop joined Natura & Co’s stable of brands in 2012. In the last decade Aesop has posted remarkable growth, increasing sales from USD28 million in 2012 to USD537 million in 2022.

Aesop has also aggressively expanded across markets, from 8 to 29, bringing the number of its retail stores and counters from 52 to 395. Recent openings in Asia include the Philippines and in Mainland China.

An Aesop store in Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands. Source: Shutterstock

“This is an exciting day for Aesop. With the support of Natura &Co, over the past decade, we have built Aesop into an admirable global force in the luxury beauty space, with a powerful product proposition and a unique customer and retail experience,” said Michael O’Keefe, Aesop’s chief executive officer. “We now enter the next phase of our development and I’m confident that with L’Oréal’s partnership we will be able to bring our exceptional skincare products to even more people and continue to expand our brand globally.”

Nicolas Hieronimus, chief executive officer of L’Oréal Groupe, said, “I am very excited to welcome Aesop and its teams to the L’Oréal Groupe family. Aesop taps into all of today’s ascending currents and L’Oréal will contribute to unleash its massive growth potential, notably in China and travel retail.”

SEE ALSO: Aesop opens first store in Mainland China 

Fabio Barbosa, chief executive officer of Natura &Co, declared: “We are proud of the remarkable success of the Aesop brand, and we are extremely grateful to all Aesop’s associates, who contributed immensely not only to Aesop’s success, but also to making Natura &Co what it is today. We are confident that Aesop’s growth story will continue under the ownership of L’Oréal and wish Aesop continued success in this new chapter.”