The Body Shop could be one step closer to separating from L’Oréal this week as bidders for the ethical beauty chain put forward their initial offers.
The chain has more than 3,000 stores in 66 countries, and sales and profits have come under pressure amid rising competition and an unhappy alliance between two very different brands.
Private equity firms including Apax Partners, CVC and Advent International are thought to be weighing up bids of between £600m and £800m for the company, alongside trade buyers including South Korea’s CJ Group, a media, home shopping and pharmaceuticals conglomerate.
L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics company, confirmed in February it had decided “to explore all strategic options” for The Body Shop “to give it the best opportunities and full ability to continue its development”.
