L'Occitane is to sell Elemis, the British premium skincare brand created in 1989, to the French fund PAI Partners. L'opération was announced on Wednesday 4 November by the two companies, which did not disclose its value.
L'Occitane had acquired Elemis in 2019 for $900 million (785 million euros), the largest acquisition in its history. Since then, the brand's net sales have exceeded $300 million. Elemis generates nearly half of its revenue online and around half of its net sales in the États-Unis.
Reinold Geiger, PDG of L'Occitane, praised "le rôle particulier" played by Elemis in the group's history. "Cette transaction reflète une gestion de portefeuille rigoureuse, axée sur la création de valeur à long terme pour le groupe", he added.
At PAI Partners, partners Gaëlle d'Engremont and Colm O'Sullivan said they were eager to support "la prochaine phase" of Elemis's development, with the ambition of accelerating its growth in the États-Unis and expanding its online business, while preserving its British identity.
Noella Gabriel, co-founder and chief executive of Elemis, noted that over the past seven years, with the support of the L'Occitane group, the brand had strengthened and grown its business, built a strong product offering and created a differentiated customer and retail experience.
A context of refocusing
The sale of Elemis comes as L'Occitane recorded revenue up 12% year-on-year at constant exchange rates for the 2024-2025 financial year, closed on 31 March 2025. The group had withdrawn from the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2024, where it had listed in 2010, following a 1.7 billion euro offer launched by Reinold Geiger to buy back the 27.4% of the capital he did not yet own.
Completion of the deal is expected in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
