L’Oréal forms new scientific partnership with Galderma as it acquires 10% stake in company

L’Oréal Group is to acquire a 10% stake in Swiss skincare company Galderma from a group of major shareholders.

The owner of CeraVe, Vichy and La Roche-Posay will purchase the stake for an undisclosed sum from Sunshine SwissCo AG, a consortium led by Swedish private equity firm EQT, as well as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Auba Investment Pte. Ltd.

Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Officer at L’Oréal, said: "It will allow us to explore partnering in the fast-growing aesthetics market, a key adjacency to our own pure beauty play. We fully support Galderma’s management and its strategy, respect its independence and are very confident in its long-term growth potential."

Galderma delivers a synergistic portfolio of flagship brands and services that span the full spectrum of dermatology, most notably Cetaphil, a sensitive skincare brand selling face and body products.

It has signed a memorandum of understanding with L’Oréal to work on research and development collaboration in the form of a scientific partnership focused on complementary research projects.

This will allow the two companies to pursue new avenues and accelerate innovation in the field of dermatology in order to deliver new combined levels of performance against the signs of skin ageing, including the development of new products using complementary technology to "expand and enhance" their product portfolios.

Flemming Ørnskov, Chief Executive Officer at Galderma, said: "We are on a journey of growth, innovation and leadership in the field of dermatology, powered by our unique integrated model.

"As we continue to deliver outstanding performance across our blockbuster platforms in attractive dermatology market segments, our commitment to progressing our current late-stage pipeline and advancing science and innovation remain a cornerstone of our approach.

"We are delighted to welcome L’Oréal as a new, long-term Galderma shareholder and see its investment as a sign of confidence in our strategy, track record and growth potential. We look forward to pursuing scientific partnership opportunities together, for the benefit of the customers, patients and consumers we serve across the globe every day."

The news comes as L’Oreal’s dermatological beauty division continues to grow double digits, having delivered a 16.4% increase in sales for the first six months of 2024 with growth across all regions.

Premium skincare brand La Roche-Posay remained the number one growth contributor to the division, fuelled by the success of its MelaB3 innovation. CeraVe also continued to grow "strongly" in the first half, while Vichy maintained its double-digit pace.

The group reported a 7.5% increase in overall sales to £18.6 billion (€22.12 billion), as well as double-digit growth in Europe.