Colgate set to acquire Laboratoires Filorga Cosmétiques Skin Care Company
Details of the deal
The global company will continue to focus on growing its premium skin care and pursuing its strategy to enter higher-margin oral care, personal care and pet nutrition companies through its latest purchase of Filorga.
Colgate — which has a broad portfolio of brands including Palmolive, elmex, Tom's of Maine, Sorriso, Protex and Sanex — bought the French skin care business on an equity purchase price of €1,495.5 million.
Premium skin care strategy
Filorga focuses on the facial care market through providing and promoting high-end anti-ageing skin care products.
The brand has grown over the past 40 years to over 60 countries including its core markets of France, Italy, Spain and Greater China. In that time, it has evolved to reflect the changing nature of the beauty industry. Now, the French brand, applies a multi-channel distribution strategy that sees its products positioned online, in pharmacies, specialty stores and travel retail.
Skin care makes up over 25% of the total value of the international beauty market, with segment sales rocketing by 8% in 2018. Clean beauty and health and wellness trends lead this area within cosmetics. The inclusion of fragrances and colour cosmetics in skin care is also rising, along with baby and child care products and make up with skin care claims.
“Filorga is a strong, premium-priced brand with distinctive positioning that fits well within our long-term personal care growth strategy,” highlighted Noel Wallace, Colgate’s President and CEO commented.
What does this move mean for Colgate’s future?
Commenting on how Colgate believes its latest acquisition will support its future direction in the near term, Wallace goes on to say: “We are excited that this acquisition will add a high-growth, profitable, global skin care asset to the Colgate portfolio with the opportunity to drive continued growth through expanded distribution and awareness.”
Looking ahead, Colgate has also centred its latest purchase on a core distribution strategy and key market, Wallace emphasises: “This acquisition also provides Colgate entry into the fast-growing and sizeable travel retail channel, particularly in Asia.”
A combination of debt and cash will be used to finance the agreement. The purchase is not anticipated to change diluted earnings per share in 2019. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019, upon receiving all regulatory approvals in certain countries.
Colgate-Palmolive enlisted Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats acted as legal advisors, while Citi acted as financial advisor as part of the transaction. Filorga Initiatives used Bredin Prat as its legal advisor, with Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas acting as its financial advisors.
