Last October, intel first surfaced that Natura & Co was looking at a potential IPO (initial public offering) or spin-off for Aesop. By December, the Brazilian beauty giant had changed tack and hired Bank of America and Morgan Stanley to explore the possibility of selling a minority stake in the Melbourne-based brand.
According to Bloomberg, the benchmark business media company, LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods group, L’Oréal and Shiseido are all considering a bid for Aesop that could see the company valued at US$2 billion.
Just over 10 years ago, Natura & Co bought a 65 per cent stake in Aesop for US$71.6 million. At the time, the company had more than 60 stores in 11 countries and annual sales of US$67.4 million.
In 2016, Natura & Co acquired total ownership of Aesop, following its rapid growth to 177 stores in 20 countries and 80 locations in department stores worldwide.
Today, Aesop has 250 stores in 27 countries and has built up a considerable business supplying some of the world’s top hotels and restaurants.
Apart from the three majors currently rumoured to be interested in acquiring a stake in Aesop, CVC Capital Partners, the leading private equity firm with US$133 billion in assets under management, and L’Occitane were also rumoured to be in the running late last year.
Natura & Co also owns The Body Shop and Avon and the multinational’s shares soared 13 per cent last week on the rumours of an Aesop deal.
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