LVMH-backed L Catterton Taps Barclays, UniCredit for Kiko Deal

On May 3, 2024By Vaseline

(Bloomberg) — Banks including Barclays Plc and UniCredit SpA are lining up €500 million ($538 million) in debt financing to support L Catterton’s purchase of a majority stake in Italian beauty brand Kiko, according to people familiar with the matter .

Private equity fund L Catterton is backed by luxury giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and recently struck a definitive deal with the Percassi family, the founders of Kiko, to buy a stake in the company. The family retains a significant interest in the company.

Other underwriters of the debt, which will be a bridge loan replaced by a bond, include Deutsche Bank AG and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a private matter.

Spokespeople for Barclays and UniCredit declined to comment. Deutsche Bank spokespeople Intesa Sanpaolo and L Catterton did not immediately return requests for comment.

Founded in 1997 by Antonio and Stefano Percassi, Kiko is a global cosmetics company with a retail network of 1,100 stores in 66 countries. The company reported net sales of about €800 million ($861 million) in 2023, up 20% from the previous year, the company said in a recent statement.

L Catterton, backed by LVMH and founder Bernard Arnault’s holding company, has invested in more than 30 beauty brands globally, including Intercos, Maria Nilla and Oddity.