Billionaire confirms offer to snap up entire L’Occitane business

L'Occitane International S.A. has announced that billionaire majority owner, Reinold Geiger, has offered to acquire all shares in the company that he doesn’t already own. He currently owns 72.64% of its shares.

Geiger plans to allow the current management team to continue operations while further investing in a "long-term sustainable growth initiative" as a privately held company delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Moving forward, to "maintain and invigorate the respective market shares" of the company's brands, he will invest in "marketing, store refurbishment, IT infrastructure and attracting talent". Doing so as a privately operated business gives the company more flexibility.

Geiger has offered a purchase price of HK$34.00 per share in cash. The offer will be financed through a combination of external debt facilities provided by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank with additional financing capital provided by Blackstone Inc.

The offer is subject to a minimum of 90% acceptance by shareholders.

Reinold Geiger said: "Our family has always taken a responsible, long-term view when it comes to developing our company. The cosmetics sector is undergoing profound changes, and our company has significantly transformed into a geographically balanced multi-brand group, marked by strategic acquisitions such as ELEMIS, Sol de Janeiro, and, most recently, Dr. Vranjes Firenze.

"The transaction we are launching today will enable us to focus on rebuilding the foundation for the long-term sustainable growth of our company."

Reinold Geiger

It was first reported that the billionaire owner was considering taking the company private in August 2023. The owner said he was considering potential buyout deals that would value the group at no less than $26 HK a share.

The company was first listed in 2010 with the hope of growing the business in the Far East and was said to be one of the first Western companies to sell its primary shares in the Asian financial hub at the time. Trading of L’Occitane was suspended in Hong Kong on 9 April after 14 years.

L’Occitane was founded by Olivier Baussan in 1976 and now, nearly 50 years later, it trades from approximately 2,774 sites in 90 countries. The company, which owns L'Occitane en Provence, Melvita and Erborian, boasts over 8,500 employees.