The French luxury group Kering, which owns the Gucci fashion brand, is close to selling its cosmetics division to L'Oreal, reports Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter.
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One of the sources cited by Reuters confirmed that the value of the transaction will be approximately USD 4 billion. This information is consistent with previous findings of the Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report on the potential transaction.
L'Oreal, the world's largest manufacturer of cosmetics and personal care products, will acquire the Creed perfume brand and the rights to develop cosmetic products associated with Kering fashion brands. This applies to brands such as Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and McQueen. According to “WSJ”, the transaction may be announced next week.
The Kering Group, which is controlled by the French Pinault family, launched its cosmetics department in 2023. It was then that the luxury perfume brand Creed was purchased for USD 4 billion.
Kering is getting closer to selling its cosmetics division to L'Oreal
The sale would be an important step forward for new CEO Luca De Meo, who officially took over in September, to address high debt levels that have caused investor concern.
The net debt of the Kering group at the end of June 2025 was EUR 9.5 billion.
The company has struggled to reverse declining sales of its biggest brand Gucci as the luxury goods market has been hit hard by falling consumer demand, especially in China, which has driven growth in the sector for more than a decade.
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Since Kering announced De Meo's appointment in mid-June, the company's shares have risen by approximately 60%.
As Reuters reported this month, representatives of the Armani Group also approached L'Oreal after the cosmetics company was mentioned in the will of the late designer Giorgio Armani as one of the preferred buyers of a minority stake in his fashion house.
