L’Occitane International S.A. is going private following acceptance from 91.97% of disinterested shareholders.
As such, the company's controlling shareholder, Reinold Geiger, will privatize L’Occitane International S.A. by acquiring all remaining offer shares.
The company's share listings will now suspend its trading activities in Hong Kong and Luxembourg.
“We are delighted with the strong support from our shareholders," said Geiger. "This transaction will provide our group with the flexibility to make longer-term business decisions. We remain committed to our brand-specific and geography-specific strategies. We firmly believe that this is in the best interests of our employees, business partners and other stakeholders, who will benefit from our accelerated growth and enhanced competitiveness in the global skincare and cosmetics industry.”
In April 2024, L’Occitane International S.A. received a €1.7 billion take-private offer from L'Occitane chairman and current majority shareholder Geiger that valued the organization at €6.0 billion.
That included an offer price of HK$34.00 in cash per share, representing an approximately 60.83% premium to the undisturbed 60-trading day average closing price.
L'Occitane established an independent board to review the offer.
Geiger argued that taking L'Occitane private will allow it "to pursue strategic investments and more efficiently implement strategies, free from the pressures of the capital markets’ expectations, regulatory costs and disclosure obligations, share price fluctuations, and sensitivity to short-term market and investor sentiment," per an official announcement.
According to L'Occitane, "The offer is particularly compelling in light of the prolonged low trading liquidity of the company’s shares, which makes it challenging for minority shareholders and vested option holders to sell a substantial amount of shares without adversely affecting the share price."
Geiger noted, “Our family has always taken a responsible, long-term view when it comes to developing our company. The cosmetics sector is undergoing profound changes, and our company has significantly transformed into a geographically balanced multi-brand group, marked by strategic acquisitions such as Elemis, Sol de Janeiro, and, most recently, Dr. Vranjes Firenze. The transaction we are launching today will enable us to focus on rebuilding the foundation for the long-term sustainable growth of our company.”
