A Body Shop lotion/COURTESY
PARIS, France, Jun 9 – French beauty products giant L’Oreal said Friday it was in exclusive negotiations to sell The Body Shop, which it has owned for over a decade, to a Brazilian company.
Brazil’s Natura Cosmeticos has put one billion euros ($1.1 billion) on the table in an “irrevocable bid” to buy the British-based retailer, founded in 1976 and specialising in natural beauty products, L’Oreal said.
The French company has been trying to sell The Body Shop for several months and Natura “is the best possible owner to nourish the DNA” of the retailer, L’Oreal CEO Jean-Paul Agon said in a statement.
The sale is expected to be finalised during the second half of the year.
Founded by the late Anita Roddick, The Body Shop saw huge growth rates with an ethical approach to cosmetics, notably by ruling out animal testing and campaigning on social and environmental issues.
