L’Occitane International's controlling shareholder is considering a move to take the skincare company private, sources have said.
Billionaire chairman Reinold Geiger is studying the possibility of buying out minority shareholders of the Hong Kong-listed group, the sources said.
He has been exploring various financing options for the potential deal.
L’Occitane's shares rose as much as 9.8 per cent in early Wednesday trading, the biggest advance in a month.
The stock has fallen by 14 per cent over the past 12 months, giving the company a market value of about HK$33 billion ($4.2 billion).
An investment vehicle ultimately controlled by Mr Geiger owns more than 70 per cent of L’Occitane, exchange filings show.
The company’s portfolio includes L’Occitane en Provence, inspired by the lavender fields of southern France, and Melvita organic beauty products.
It also owns the Elemis line of collagen creams, as well the Grown Alchemist range of anti-ageing serums and Korean skincare brand Erborian.
L’Occitane, which is based in Luxembourg and Geneva, and its backers raised $787 million in the company’s 2010 initial public offering, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
It listed in Hong Kong at a time when a number of western consumer companies were seeking to boost exposure to the fast-growing consumer market in China.
Over the past five years, an average of $1.7 million in L’Occitane stock has changed hands daily, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Mr Geiger may consider relisting L’Occitane in Paris or another European market at a later date, some of the sources said.
Deliberations are continuing and there is no certainty he will decide to proceed with a transaction, they said.
Representatives for L’Occitane did not respond to several requests for comment. Mr Geiger did not immediately reply to emailed queries.
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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