Shares of L'Occitane International rose sharply after a report that Blackstone is considering a bid for the skin care company.
L'Occitane shares 973,
It rose 9.4% to HK$28.45 in early Asian trade on Tuesday, on track for its biggest daily percentage gain since last May.
Private equity firm Blackstone BX,
The company is conducting preliminary due diligence as it considers a potential bid for the skin care company, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The report stated that Blackstone is also considering the possibility of collaborating with L'Occitane's billionaire Chairman Reinhold Geiger in a purchase deal.
L'Occitane did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Dow Jones News Agency.
Plans to take over L'Occitane are not new, as Geiger considered taking the company private last year. L'Occitane later said the controlling shareholder informed it on September 3 that it had “decided not to proceed with the potential transaction,” according to a stock exchange filing.
Jaeger owns about 73% of L'Occitane International, which currently has a market capitalization of HK$41.95 billion (US$5.36 billion), according to FactSet.
