L’Occitane shares halted in Hong Kong as Blackstone said to prepare funds for privatisation bid
- Blackstone is said to be providing debt financing to L’Occitane chairman Reinold Geiger to take the skincare group off the city’s stock exchange
- Skincare group, listed in Hong Kong in 2010, has a market value of about US$5.6 billion; billionaire Geiger has a 70 per cent stake
While deliberations are at an advanced stage, they could still be delayed or even fall apart, the people said. A representative for Blackstone declined to comment, while L’Occitane did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
L’Occtitane has a market value of about HK$43.6 billion (US$5.6 billion). A vehicle ultimately controlled by its chairman Geiger owns more than 70 per cent of the company, exchange filings show.
L’Occitane was founded in 1976 by Frenchman Olivier Baussan, who started out making essential oils from plants like lavender in the French countryside of Provence, and selling them at local markets. Geiger, who became a minority shareholder in 1994 has said its poor performance prompted him to start working there in a bid to safeguard his investment.
