L'Oréal, one of the global giants in the cosmetics industry, announced theacquisition of 10% in Swiss society galderma, a company specializing in skin care. The acquired stake comes from Sunshine SwissCo Ag, (a consortium led by EQT), Abu Dhabi investment authority (Adia), Auba Investment Pte. Ltd. The amount of the transaction was not made public. The 10% stake in Galderma is expected to be valued at around 1,59 billion Swiss francs, equivalent to 1,71 billion euros.
The acquisition occurred through one off-market bulk exchange with the consortium e will be financed through liquidity and available credit lines from L'Oréal. Completion of the transaction is expected in the next few days. This deal comes just months after Galderma went public via one of the largest IPOs of the year.
L'Oréal, scientific partnership
In addition to the equity acquisition, L'Oréal and Galderma have agreed on a new scientific collaboration. This partnership will focus on research and development projects which exploit the complementary skills of the two companies: Galderma in dermatological solutions and L'Oréal in skin biology and diagnostic methods. The partnership aims to further innovate in the skincare industry, integrating expertise and resources to develop new products and technologies.
Galderma offers a broad portfolio of products, including dermocosmetics, dermatological drugs, fillers, neuromodulators and hyaluronic acid biostimulators.
Returning to the company for L'Oréal
This acquisition marks the L'Oréal's return to Galderma, which was founded in 1981 as a joint venture between Nestlé and L'Oréal itself. After being fully acquired by Nestlé in 2014, Galderma was sold in 2019 to Swedish investment firm Eqt for more than $10 billion. Currently, Galderma employs over 6.500 people and operates four manufacturing facilities in France, Canada, Brazil and Sweden. Among its major brands is Cetaphil, whose cleanser was launched in 1947, well before the creation of Galderma.
L'Oréal, a global leader in the beauty industry, has long adopted a holistic approach to skin care. The company is dedicated to integrating diagnostic tools, topical products, consumer devices and aesthetic treatments to offer advanced solutions against skin aging. This investment in Galderma represents a significant expansion strategy in the field of dermatology, a growing industry that combines beauty and skin science.
“I am very pleased to announce this strategic investment and partnership with Galderma. It marks an ambitious step for L'Oréal and, true to our mantra 'seize what is starting', allows us to explore the opportunity to collaborate in the rapidly growing beauty market, a key element to our pure beauty game,” he said Nicholas hieronimus, CEO of L'Oréal.
"We fully support Galderma's management and its strategy as a leading operator in the field of pure dermatology, we respect your independence and we are very confident in its long-term growth potential,” concluded the CEO.
