L’Occitane to delist from Hong Kong Stock Exchange

L’Occitane International SA has progressed its privatisation plan, after gaining the approval of enough shareholders.

It comes after majority shareholder Reinold Geiger made an €1.7 billion offer to acquire the 27.4% of the company he did not already own, with the support of investment firm Blackstone. His offer valued the business at €6 billion.

In a statement on Tuesday, the company said that 91.97% of disinterested shareholders had tendered their shares, "surpassing the threshold required for conducting a squeeze-out of shares not tendered to the share offer."

As a result, L’Occitane Holding SA, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company's controlling shareholder, will acquire the remaining shares, leading to the final steps in L’Occitane's privatisation process.

"We are delighted with the strong support from our shareholders. This transaction will provide our group with the flexibility to make longer-term business decisions," Geiger said in the statement.

"We remain committed to our brand-specific and geography-specific strategies. We firmly believe that this is in the best interests of our employees, business partners and other stakeholders, who will benefit from our accelerated growth and enhanced competitiveness in the global skincare and cosmetics industry."

The company plans to suspend its shares from 7 August 2024, meaning it will be delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

L'Occitane was listed in Hong Kong via an initial public offering in 2010, and was said to be one of the first Western companies to sell its primary shares in the Asian financial hub at the time.

Present in over 90 countries, the group owns various brands, including L'Occitane en Provence, Melvita and Erborian.

It has also strengthened its portfolio over recent years by acquiring British skincare brand Elemis for $900 million in 2019 and taking a majority stake in Sol de Janeiro in 2021.