Billionaire Geiger is said to near US$7 billion L’Occitane buyout
- Geiger is considering making an offer for the L’Occitane shares he does not already own at HK$33 to HK$34 apiece as early as Monday
- Deal could value the firm at about US$7 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter
L’Occitane International’s billionaire owner Reinold Geiger is close to making an offer to take the skincare company private, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that could value the firm at about US$7 billion including debt.
Geiger is considering making an offer for the L’Occitane shares he does not already own at HK$33 to HK$34 apiece as early as Monday, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Blackstone’s tactical opportunities fund is poised to help fund the buyout deal, along with Goldman Sachs’s asset-management arm, the people said.
An offer may give L’Occitane an enterprise value of about €6.5 billion (US$7 billion), the people said. Blackstone and Goldman Sachs Asset Management may provide about €1.6 billion in total funding, the people said.
A vehicle ultimately controlled by Geiger, L’Occitane’s chairman, already owns more than 70 per cent of the company, exchange filings show. Trading of L’Occitane was suspended in Hong Kong on April 9, pending an announcement related to takeover codes. The stock closed at HK$29.50 a day earlier, giving the company a market value of about $5.6 billion.
Geiger was close to a deal to take the skincare company private with funding help from Blackstone, potentially ending its 14-year run on Hong Kong’s stock exchange, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.
