L’Oréal to Acquire Kering Beauty Portfolio for €4 Billion 💄

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L’Oréal is acquiring Kering Beauté, including luxury fragrance house Creed and long-term beauty licences for Gucci, Bottega Veneta, and Balenciaga, in a deal valued at €4 billion ($4.6 billion). The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Let’s dive into what’s happening…

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What’s the deal? 🤝

Here’s what’s included in the agreement:

• L’Oréal acquires Creed, the luxury fragrance house founded in 1760, known for cult perfumes like Aventus.

• 50-year exclusive beauty and fragrance licences for Gucci, Balenciaga, and Bottega Veneta, kicking in after Gucci’s current deal with Coty expires in 2028.

• A new 50/50 joint venture between L’Oréal and Kering to explore the fast-growing wellness and longevity space.

For Kering (the group behind Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga), this deal marks a major shift. The company only launched its beauty division in 2023 after buying Creed for €3.5 billion, but under new CEO Luca de Meo, Kering is changing fast. The goal now is to reduce its €9.5 billion debt and focus on revitalising its core fashion brands.

Why this move? 🤔

For L’Oréal:

💡 It’s all about scale. Creed gives L’Oréal a powerful foothold in the booming high-end fragrance market, and those 50-year licences bring prestige and long-term revenue from some of fashion’s biggest names.

🔬 It also plays to L’Oréal’s strengths, which are research, innovation, and global distribution. They’ve already proven what they can do with Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, which they’ve run under licence since 2008.

For Kering:

💼 This is a financial and strategic reset. The beauty division had been losing money, and selling it helps reduce debt while allowing Kering to focus on fashion. 

🧭 It’s also about flexibility. De Meo wants to streamline operations and concentrate on areas where Kering already has size and expertise (mainly fashion, leather goods, and jewellery).

How could a law firm be involved?

Due diligence – Before finalising the acquisition, lawyers will conduct a thorough examination of both companies' financial records, contracts, intellectual property rights, and any ongoing or potential legal issues. This ensures both companies are aware of any risks associated with the acquisition.

Intellectual Property – Given that both companies have established brands, intellectual property lawyers will ensure all intellectual property rights are properly transferred and that there are no infringements or disputes that could affect the brands' reputations or market positions.

Antitrust – Given L’Oréal’s size, competition lawyers will need to secure approvals from regulators to make sure the acquisition doesn’t unfairly limit competition in luxury beauty markets.

Joint Venture Structuring - The new 50/50 venture in wellness and longevity will also require legal work. Lawyers would be defining how profits are shared, who owns new IP, and what happens if either side wants to exit.

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I hope you enjoyed this article. See you next week! 👋