MADRID, April 7 (Reuters) - The founding families of the Spanish firm Puig, which owns such brands as Rabanne and Nina Ricci, and U.S. cosmetics giant Estee Lauder will meet this week in New York to negotiate the terms of a potential business combination, a person with knowledge of the talks said on Tuesday.
Estee Lauder and Puig aim to reach an agreement in the coming weeks, the person told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity as the discussions remain private.
The source confirmed an earlier
report from Spanish newspaper Expansion.
Last month, Puig and Estee Lauder said they were exploring a deal that would create the world's largest premium beauty player, with brands including Tom Ford, Carolina Herrera, Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Clinique under one roof.
Spokespeople for Puig declined to comment, while Estee Lauder was not available for comment outside of U.S. business hours.
Puig was initially set to report its first-quarter sales and hold its capital markets day on April 14, but it has postponed the sales report to April 28 and has yet to announce a new date for its capital markets day.
The transaction would be structured as a cash-and-share public takeover bid by Estee Lauder for Puig, with the new entity listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Expansion said.
The merger format being discussed would dilute the Lauder family's control, bringing it closer to the potential stake held by the Puig family, while Puig's non‑voting shareholders would receive cash or low‑voting shares, according to the Spanish newspaper.
Analysts estimate the combined business would have revenue of just over 20 billion euros, making it the world's number-one premium beauty group ahead of the 15.6 billion euros at L'Oreal's Luxe division, which last October bought the beauty assets of Gucci-owner Kering.
(Reporting by Paolo Laudani and Andres Gonzalez; Editing by David Latona and Tomasz Janowski)
