L’Occitane to be fully owned by former CEO

Austrian billionaire Reinold Geiger wants to snatch L’Occitane from the stock market. Geiger was the one who grew the French personal care brand and once again wants to intervene.

New foundations needed

Reinold Geiger, the Tyrolean businessman who is already a majority shareholder, wants to take L’Occitane off the stock exchange completely. He is launching a takeover bid that values the skincare group at around 6.5 billion euros. To pick the remaining shares from the Hong Kong stock exchange, Geiger offers 34 Hong Kong dollars per share while the current share price is around 29.5 Hong Kong dollars.

It is already the second attempt by Geiger, who owns 72% of the shares today, as previous plans had been called off by the billionaire in September. Now, however, the investor argues that the deal is necessary to rebuild the foundations for sustainable long-term growth. “The cosmetics sector is undergoing profound changes and our business has changed significantly into a geographically balanced multibrand group,” Geiger told FT.

Focus on Asia

The cosmetics sector is proving remarkably resilient despite the difficult economic climate. Sephora and L’Oréal, among others, exceeded expectations, and L’Occitane also grew sales by 13% to 2.13 billion euros by 2023. Yet the beauty sector is struggling with falling demand in China, while Asia-Pacific accounts for 42% of L’Occitane’s total sales.

It was precisely Reinold Geiger who once steered L’Occitane towards Asia, believing in the potential of the Asian luxury consumer. After the Austrian took a minority stake in the then nearly bankrupt French brand in 1994, he even became CEO to ensure a breakthrough there. In 2021, Geiger stepped aside but remained chairman and executive director. That he cannot let go of “his” chain is ever so evident today.