Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and Puig have ended their discussions over a potential merger, confirming the deal will not go ahead.
The potential business combination would have seen the American conglomerate merge its business with the Spanish beauty giant, in a deal rumoured to be worth a combined value of around US$40bn.
However, ELC confirmed the deal would not be going ahead in a press release on 21 May.
“The Estée Lauder Companies and Puig today announced that the parties have terminated discussions regarding a potential business combination,” read the company statement.
The statement affirmed ELC’s commitment to its 'Beauty Reimagined' strategy as a core reason, “which is well underway and delivering positive results".
The news comes just a day after a report revealed that Charlotte Tilbury was exploring an renegotiation surrounding her make-up brand’s deal with Puig, which could have thrown a spanner into the works.
News of the potential merger between ELC and Puig first broke in March 2026, with both companies noting that “unless and until an agreement was signed between the companies, there could be no assurances regarding the deal or its terms”.
ELC President and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie confirmed the discussions had ended in the company’s press release, stating: “We are grateful for the conversations we have had with Puig.
“Today, we are reiterating our confidence in the power of our incredible brands, our talented teams and our strength as a standalone company.
“We are more optimistic than ever about our ability to unlock significant long-term value through ‘Beauty Reimagined’, and we remain focused on accelerating that progress.”
“We have one of the most powerful portfolios of prestige beauty brands in the world, supported by exceptional equity across categories, geographies and consumer segments, and we believe we are uniquely positioned to drive sustainable long-term growth globally.
“The momentum we are seeing across our business reinforces the strength of the path ahead.
“Through ‘Beauty Reimagined’ and the implementation of our ‘One ELC’ operating model, we are building a faster, more agile, consumer-focused organisation – one that is accelerating innovation, strengthening execution, scaling winning ideas globally, and investing behind the highest-growth opportunities across our portfolio.
“At the same time, we will continue to evaluate and evolve our portfolio to ensure we have the right assets to drive the most compelling growth opportunities, including both potential acquisitions and divestitures.
“We remain relentlessly focused on driving sustainable sales growth, expanding profitability, and delivering a solid double-digit adjusted operating margin over time, all while creating long-term value for stockholders.”
ELC was allegedly seeking $5b in funding for the deal, as reported in April.
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