French luxury group Kering is said to be nearing a deal to sell its beauty division to L’Oréal for around €4bn, according to the Wall Street Journal.
If it goes through, the deal would see L’Oréal take over fragrance brand Creed, as well as the rights to develop beauty products for Kering’s fashion brands, such as Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Alexandra McQueen. Kering also owns the Gucci brand, whose fragrance and beauty license is held by Coty, and the Saint Laurent brand, whose license is operated by L’Oréal.
Kering, has been struggling and brought in former Renault executive Luca de Meo as CEO in September in a bid to turn the business around and reduce its debt.
A sale of the beauty division would be a major U-turn for Kering. In 2023, Kering revealed that it was looking to build its beauty and fragrance business in-house, and acquired Creed for around €3.5bn. This was shortly after setting up its beauty division and appointing former Estée Lauder Companies executive Raffaella Cornaggia as the unit’s CEO. At the time, the company said fragrance was a strategic category.
The group has also brought a number of its fragrance licenses in-house, such as Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Pomellato and Qeelin.
Last year, Kering also took a minority stake in French fragrance brand Matière Première.