Is Charlotte Tilbury holding up the Estée Lauder Companies and Puig’s potential merger?

By Lynsey Barber | Published: 20-May-2026
Colour Cosmetics Skin Care Finance

Brand founder Charlotte Tilbury is allegedly seeking to renegotiate her deal with Puig, the giant which owns a majority stake in her eponymous beauty brand, and which is in ongoing talks with Estée Lauder Companies over a potential merger of their businesses

Brand founder Charlotte Tilbury is reportedly seeking to renegotiate her deal with Puig, holding up a potential merger of the Spanish beauty and fashion giant with Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), according to a new report.

Puig took a majority stake in make-up and skin care brand Charlotte Tilbury in 2020, with Tilbury retaining a minority investment.

In 2024, Tilbury and Puig agreed a deal that would see Puig progressively assume ownership by 2031.

The deal includes call and put options exercisable at different periods between 2026 and 2031, the value of which is based on Charlotte Tilbury the brand’s financial performance.

The agreement is also alleged to include a change of control clause, through which Tilbury could trigger the forced sale of her stake in the business, Spanish ​newspaper Expansion reported.

This could cost Puig hundreds of millions of euros and is not a cost ELC is willing to accept, unnamed sources reportedly told the newspaper.

Based on Charlotte Tilbury the brand’s current financial performance, Tilbury would not receive an earn-out payment, which has prompted the founder to renegotiate the terms of the deal, according to the newspaper, which has cited sources who were not named.

Cosmetics Business has contacted Charlotte Tilbury, Puig and ELC for comment.

ELC and Puig confirmed in March that they were in talks over a potential merger.

The transaction would see the US conglomerate, which owns MAC Cosmetics and Clinique, merge its business with the Spanish beauty giant, which also owns beauty brands Byredo, Dr. Barbara Sturm and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Speaking during its Q1 2026 earnings call in April, Puig CEO Jose Manuel Albesa, said the talks remained “ongoing” but that no agreement had been reached.

ELC CEO Stéphane de La Faverie said yesterday (19 May) at the FT Business of Luxury Summit that talks were ongoing, but there was no announcement to make yet.

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