The deal that the fashion and beauty world had been watching since last October is now done. L’Oréal has finalised its €4 billion acquisition of Kering’s beauty division, Kering Beauté, following approval from competition authorities. It closed on the 31st of March 2026, and the luxury landscape will not look quite the same going forward.
This is not a small reshuffling at the edges. These are two of the most powerful names in their respective industries deciding that the future belongs to whoever controls luxury beauty, and L’Oréal just made a very loud, very expensive argument that it intends to be that company.
What L’Oréal Actually Gets
The headline number is €4 billion, roughly $4.6 billion, paid entirely in cash. But the real value here is in what that money buys. The transaction includes Kering’s luxury fragrance brand House of Creed, as well as exclusive 50-year beauty and fragrance licenses for the Kering brands. That last part is worth sitting with for a moment. Fifty years. This covers the creation, development and distribution of fragrance and beauty products under Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, and gives L’Oréal the rights to enter a 50-year exclusive license agreement with Gucci, once Kering’s current license with Coty expires.
The two groups will also continue to explore development opportunities in wellness and longevity through a new joint venture. Which tells you that this partnership is thinking well beyond perfume counters and foundation shades.
What Both Sides Said
Kering’s CEO Luca de Meo framed it as a strategic leap forward, saying the alliance with L’Oréal opens a new phase of acceleration for the development of fragrances and cosmetics for houses that are among the most iconic in the world. L’Oréal’s CEO Nicolas Hieronimus called it a natural extension of two decades of success with Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, a relationship that turned YSL into one of L’Oréal’s billion-dollar brands.
Why It Matters
For years, Kering has been trying to close the gap with LVMH, which has always played the beauty game with far more aggression. This deal is Kering essentially saying: we will let the best in the business handle it. For L’Oréal, it is a statement of dominance in the luxury segment, and for the rest of the industry, it is a reminder that in fashion, the real money has always followed the fragrance.
