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In an exchange filing published on June 17, the company updated its buyout offer, giving shareholders an option between the existing HK $34 ($4.35) per share in cash, or 10 shares in the new private company for every share held. Trading was halted in the morning in anticipation of the announcement, and resumed later the same day.
L’Occitane originally made an initial privatisation bid in April, with billionaire chairman Reinold Geiger partnering with Blackstone and Goldman Sachs to fund the $1.8 billion takeover. Geiger owns more than 70 percent of the company’s shares.
The conglomerate owns its namesake L’Occitane en Provence and skin care line Elemis, as well as the hugely popular Gen-Z body and fragrance line Sol de Janeiro.
The share offer may help to move the needle for shareholders who believe the current cash offer undervalues the firm. In Hong Kong, where the firm has been listed since 2010, the consent of at least 90 percent of minority shareholders is required. The cash offer values the company at $6.4 billion.
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With the success of brands such as Sol de Janiero, which is expected to clear $1 billion in retail sales this financial year, some shareholders may not be ready to give up their stakes just yet.
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L’Occitane Is Going Private. Here’s Why.
Going public is usually a pivotal moment in a company’s history, cementing its heavyweight status and setting it up for expansion. In L’Occitane’s case, delisting might be a bigger conduit for growth.
