After fourteen years, today was L'Occitane's last day of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. At the end of April, Reinold Geiger, L'Occitane's largest shareholder, initiated a process to take a 27.4% stake in the company he did not already control for a total of 1.7 billion euros.
The maker of Sol de Janeiro and L'Occitane en Provence has received the go-ahead for the deal from 91.97% of investors, which has exceeded the minimum required to proceed with the privatisation of L'Occitane. The offer from Reinolg Geiger, the majority shareholder, was backed by the US giant Blackstone, and was almost unanswerable, hence the high number of shareholders who gave the green light to the deal.
Reinold Geiger said in a press release issued by the French cosmetics group, explaining that "this transaction will give the group the flexibility to make long-term business decisions. We remain committed to our brand and geographic strategies and we are convinced that this is the best option for our partners, shareholders and employees.
As of today, L'Occitane will no longer be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and joins the list of companies in the cosmetics sector leaving the stock exchange. The company closed 2023 with good results and an improvement in sales of 24.5% in 2023, despite having reduced its profits by 51%. Cinco Días, a media specialised in economic information, does not rule out the possibility that the French cosmetics group may in the future consider a return to the stock market, but, in that hypothetical case, it will be on the French stock exchange.
Other companies that have decided to end their stock market listing in recent months include Tod's, last listed on 4 June, which was acquired by L Catterton in a 512 million euro deal backed by luxury group LVMH.