Mergers: Commission clears proposed acquisition of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté by L'Oréal
- France
- 06/17/2008
The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté by L’Oréal, both of France and both active in the development, production and sale of cosmetics. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition within the European Economic Area (EEA) or a substantial part of it.
The activities of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté and L’Oréal overlap in the development, production and sale of luxury cosmetics, in particular make-up and perfumes. The two companies both own strong brands – Yves Saint Laurent for Yves Saint Laurent Beauté and Lancôme for L’Oréal. They sell their products worldwide, mainly through specialist stands in department stores and beauty products stores, as well as in airport shops and ferry terminals.
The Commission’s market investigation showed that the merged entity would still face strong competition from effective, international cosmetics manufacturers, offering the full range of beauty products, such as Estée Lauder, LVMH or Chanel. Overall, the Commission concluded that the combination of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté‘s and L’Oréal’s brands would not give rise to competition concerns.
