Luxury brand owner Kering handed over more than US$3.8bn to purchase French fragrance house Creed, according to the Financial Times.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the publication said the Gucci owner paid €3.5bn ($3.83bn) in an all-cash deal to buy 100% of Creed from funds controlled by Blackrock and Creed’s Chairman Javier Ferrán.
The deal was announced last month and is expected to close in the second half of 2023.
The Financial Times report added that details of the transaction were not initially disclosed, in part, because the companies did not want to broadcast Creed’s steep profit margins.
The deal was described by François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering, as the first strategic acquisition for the recently formed Kering Beauté division.
Kering Beauté launched in February this year, headed by beauty industry veteran Raffaella Cornaggia, formerly of L’Oréal and the Estée Lauder Companies.
Founded in 1760 by James Henry Creed, the namesake company started as a tailor before transitioning to fragrance.
The maison, which is best known for its Aventus scent, was sold to Blackrock in 2020, ending 260 years of family business.
Last month was a notable one for fragrance house purchases, with US private equity firm Advent International also announcing it was buying fellow French fragrance players Parfums de Marly and Initio Parfums Privés, with plans for global, omnichannel growth.
