Estée Lauder ends merger talks with Gaultier owner Puig

Key points

• The US cosmetics company Estée Lauder has ended merger talks with its Spanish rival Puig to create a fashion and beauty retailer worth almost $40bn (£30bn/€34.5bn) after failing to agree which would hold the balance of power in the combined group.
• Estée Lauder is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of skincare, makeup and fragrances, with a portfolio that includes Clinique, Bobbi Brown and Tom Ford Beauty.
• Puig, which floated on the Madrid stock market two years ago, owns brands including Jean Paul Gaultier, Charlotte Tilbury, Carolina Herrera and Dries van Noten.
• Estée Lauder said on Thursday “the parties have terminated discussions regarding a potential business combination”.
• The talks, which were first revealed in March, failed to progress to an agreement on how the final merged entity would be structured.