L'Oreal to buy Body Shop International
L'Oreal to buy Body Shop International
L'Oreal will pay 300.0 pence a share for Body Shop, which will be maintained as a separate entity and continue to be led by its current management team, the French firm said in a statement.
The offer price is 31.5 percent higher than Body Shop's average share price over the six months before February 21, the last day before speculation of a bid emerged, the companies said in a statement.
Body Shop directors holding about 21.6 percent of share capital -- including company founders Anita and Gordon Roddick with 18 percent -- have accepted the offer.
On the
"The acquisition reinforces the portfolio of Oreal brands with a brand that is very complimentary and with a strong identity and strong values. L'Oreal undertakes to respect these values," L'Oreal said
The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, who rapidly expanded the business from modest beginnings with a determination to offer products which had not been tested on animals and used natural products. Body Shop was a leader in the so-called ethical business sector and developed a high-profile brand.
But as other retailers leaped aboard the natural beauty bandwagon, Body Shop struggled, with Roddick stepping down as chief executive in 1998.
It has about 1,900 shops in 50 countries, with its main markets being
L'Oreal, which owns the brands Lancome, Garnier and Maybelline lipsticks, reported in February a sharp rise in underlying net profit in 2005 owing to expansion in emerging markets and
The group said the results marked 21 years of annual profit increases of 10 percent or more, saying net profit had risen by 37 percent on a comparable basis to 1.97 billion euros and signaled that it was looking for acquisitions.
L'Oreal was among leading luxury goods and perfume companies fined a total of 46.2 million euros this week by the French competition authority for price-fixing.
L'Oreal rejected all accusations of price-fixing with the distributors of its perfumes and said it was considering launching an appeal.
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