Beauty business behind Swift and Bieber fragrances acquired by Revlon for $870m
The beauty business behind fragrances launched by Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber has been snapped up in a deal worth 870 million US dollars.
Elizabeth Arden has been taken over by US cosmetics giant Revlon in a tie-up that will pull in net sales of three billion US dollars a year.
Revlon said the deal will help expand its business overseas and hand it a greater share of the market through Elizabeth Arden's luxury skin care, colour cosmetics and fragrance products.
Chief executive of Revlon, Fabian Garcia said: "Combining our brands, talent, and global distribution will give our company a significant presence in all major channels and categories, while accelerating sales growth in existing and new geographic regions.
"We look forward to bringing together our two top-notch teams to form a global leader in beauty."
Revlon said it would pay 14 US dollars per share in cash for Elizabeth Arden, a 50% premium on Thursday's closing share price.
It said the move would bring cost savings of 140 million US dollars by losing "duplicate activities", "leveraging purchasing scale" and capitalising on the "manufacturing and distribution network of the combined company."
The New York-based firm said Elizabeth Arden's strength in the Asia-Pacific region would also push its products into new markets.
It comes after Revlon was handed around 2.6 billion US dollars of financing from the Bank of America Merill Lynch and Citigroup Global Markets to fund the takeover and refinance Elizabeth Arden's debt and Revlon's bank loans and revolving credit facility.
Elizabeth Arden, which sells beauty products in more than 120 countries, was launched in 1910 when its founder opened its first spa on Fifth Avenue in New York.
It is known for its range of celebrity fragrances, including products with Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj and Jennifer Aniston.
Founded in 1932, Revlon's brands include Revlon colour cosmetics, Almay, Sinful Colors and men's haircare products American Crew.
