Nestle, the confectionary owner, has cut back its shares in French beauty giant L’Oréal from 23.3% to 20%.
The 22.26 million shares have been sold back to the cosmetics owner for €400 per share, making them worth just shy of €9bn.
In a statement, the Swiss food giant said that it remains “fully supportive” of L’Oréal’s creation strategy and that the business will retain its two positions on the Board of Directors.
The move by Nestle is part of a new plan to buy back 16.3 billion of its own shares from 2022 to 2024.
In a separate statement, L’Oréal said that its other shareholders will benefit from the sale.
These include the Bettencourt Meyers dynasty, of which Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of the founder of L’Oréal and richest woman in the world, according to Forbes, is a part.
The family’s stake will rise from 33.3% to 34.7%.
Chairman Jean-Paul Agon said: “This transaction with Nestle is in the interest of the company and all of its shareholders.
“It constitutes a new strategic milestone in reinforcing the shareholder stability of L’Oréal around the Bettencourt Meyes founding family and Nestle.”
L’Oréal’s share price opened up 1.4% higher this morning.