Colgate buys €1.5bn skin care unit of France’s Filorga

Colgate-Palmolive Company said on Friday it agreed to acquire the Laboratoires Filorga Cosmétiques skin care business for about €1.49 billion.

Colgate-Palmolive said the acquisition is part of its strategy to focus on its higher-margin oral care, personal care and pet nutrition businesses, and expand its portfolio in premium skin care,.

Filorga is an anti-aging skin care brand focused primarily on facial care.

Originally founded in France in 1978, the brand is now sold in over 60 countries with its largest markets in France, Italy, Spain and Greater China.

Colgate CEO Noel Wallace said: “Filorga is a strong, premium-priced brand with distinctive positioning that fits well within our long-term personal care growth strategy.

“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.

“This acquisition also provides Colgate entry into the fast-growing and sizeable travel retail channel, particularly in Asia.”

The transaction will be financed with a combination of debt and cash and is currently expected to close in the third quarter of 2019.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats acted as legal advisors and Citi acted as financial advisor to Colgate-Palmolive on the transaction.

Bredin Prat acted as legal advisor and Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas acted as financial advisors to Filorga Initiatives on the transaction.