THE WHAT? L’Occitane has acquired a majority stake in Brazilian premium beauty brand Sol de Janeiro, taking an indirect equity interest of 83 percent. 

THE DETAILS The acquisition was based on a valuation of US$450 million, and was funded by the group’s cash on hand and existing bank facilities. 

Sol de Janeiro is a lifestyle skincare brand aimed at ‘multi-generational, modern and global consumers from Generation Z to millennials.’

THE WHY? The buy out is said to be in line with L’Occitane’s strategy of building a leading portfolio of premium beauty brands. 

L’Occitane stated that Sol de Janeiro was a ‘strategic fit’ for the company in terms of its brand recognition and identity, product quality, management capability, as well as growth, profitability and cash generation prospects. 

André Hoffmann, Vice-Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of L’Occitane, said, “In the past few years, the Group has accelerated its M&A activity with the support of the strong cash generative qualities of our core L’OCCITANE en Provence brand, and more recently the ELEMIS brand. We are delighted to be further expanding our brand portfolio and accelerating our transformation into a multi-brand and geographically-balanced group. 

“With a compelling brand story and an experienced and entrepreneurial management team, Sol de Janeiro reflects our values and premium beauty image. It has enormous potential for growth in new and existing markets and channels around the world and will be immediately accretive to the Group’s results, contributing to healthy and profitable growth in the short and medium term.”