L’Occitane’s billionaire owner to take firm private in $1.8 billion deal

:Hong Kong-listed L’Occitane Worldwide’s chairman and controlling shareholder will take the French pores and skin-care firm non-public, valuing it at a maximum of HK$13.91 billion ($1.78 billion), the corporate acknowledged on Monday.

Reuters reported in early April that L’Occitane’s Chairman Reinold Geiger used to be in developed talks with investors and lenders about the deal, with U.S. non-public fairness extensive Blackstone taking a survey to give debt financing to fund the deal.

As segment of the deal, Austrian billionaire Geiger’s investment retaining company L’Occitane Groupe in Luxembourg pays HK$34 for every fragment no longer already owned, representing a 30.8 per cent top class to the stock’s final shut of HK$26 on Feb. 5.

L’Occitane Groupe owned 72.39 per cent of the cosmetics company at March-discontinue.

The investment retaining firm would no longer intend to amplify the provide value for the deal, which comes about a months after Geiger shelved a buyout are attempting for the corporate.

L’Occitane Worldwide’s shares, that were halted on April 9, will resume trading on Tuesday.

($1 = 7.8265 Hong Kong bucks)