L'Occitane shares rise on report of potential Blackstone offer

By Sherry Qin

L'Occitane International's shares rose sharply after a report that Blackstone is considering a bid for the skincare company.

L'Occitane's shares (HK:973) gained 9.4% to 28.45 Hong Kong dollars in early Asian trade Tuesday, on track for its largest daily percentage gain since last May.

Private equity firm Blackstone (BX) has been conducting preliminary due diligence as it mulls a potential offer for the skincare company, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Blackstone is also considering the possibility of teaming up with L'Occitane's billionaire chairman Reinold Geiger on a buyout, the report said.

L'Occitane didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by Dow Jones Newswires.

Plans for taking over L'Occitane are not new, as Geiger considered taking the company private last year. L'Occitane subsequently said it had been informed by the controlling shareholder on Sep. 3 that "it has decided not to proceed with the possible transaction," according to an exchange filing.

Geiger owns about 73% of L'Occitane International, which currently has a market capitalization of HK$41.95 billion (US$5.36 billion), according to FactSet.

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02-05-24 2154ET

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