November 17, 2021

L�Occitane to Acquire Sol de Janeiro

Let the M & A begin for 2022! News broke yesterday that L’Occitane will acquire an 83% stake in Sol De Janeiro while maintaining its chief executive officer, Heela Yang, also, the founder of the brand.

Yang was quoted as saying, �I am rolling over a significant amount of my equity, this is why I chose to do it with L�Occitane � what they offered me was the best of both worlds, because I�m not ready to retire.�

The brand was founded six years ago after Heela and spent time in Brazil and since that time has nearly doubled sales from year to year. I’m not convinced at some point she will step down as that seems to be the order of business with much larger stakes in ownership! We’ve seen it happen with many different founders such as Bobbi Brown. We’ll see how it goes. As of now, Sol de Janeiro has shown some great growth and I’m hoping they formulas and scents grow further with this new merger.

As of now, there’s no word when L’Ocitane will move forward but I imagine it’ll be as of 2022. The amount of the 83% stake is based on a valuation of $450 million.

What do you think of the fact L’Occitane is now involved on some level with Sol de Janeiro?

This is the first M & A we’re seeing for the 2022 year! I wonder who else we can expect to see fall.

6 Comments

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Daphne B

    I really love Brazilian Crush, and the Bum Bum cream. I hope they keep the line intake, and don’t go way up on price, as they are already a little pricey and so is L�Occitane. What do you think will happen?

  • dia

    The two companies seem so different, but I suppose that’s the point. I see l’occitane as a wealthy, conservative older French woman and sdj as a young and lively party girl. L’occitane hadn’t been doing too well, and has closed most of their shops. I suppose this is seen as an opportunity for them to broaden their reach to the younger demographics.

  • cat

    It feels a bit odd because I haven’t thought of L’Occitane in a long time and Sol de Janeiro seems like it’s on the rise. L’Occitane products just aren’t great and unlike Sol de Janeiro, I don’t want to just use their creams and moisturizers as a vehicle for scent so there’s nothing they really offer. I wish they would try makeup again because I still haven’t found a coral lipstick I like better than the shade they discontinued.

  • kjh

    Sounds pretty much par for the course, esp for serial entrepreneurs. Think Marcia Kilgore: Bliss>Soap and Glory>FitFlop>Soaper Duper>Beauty Pie. Stay on a bit as creative advisor, if the corp wants you. Leave when you think the transition is in place or they want you to go, whichever comes first. It would bug the #&* out of me to lose control of my baby. But Heela Yang comes from the Korean American beauty tradition. You KNOW she has lots of ideas to grow. That�s what I think she will do. As to L�Occitane, they seem to be floundering a bit. Stores closed, lines d/c�d, old product brought back, only fair presence in national stores. Yay, Four Thieves is back! Highly appropriate in the Covid era, lol. L�Occitane needs an infusion. Since they are primarily a body care co, it�s a fit, if somewhat unexpected. Not sure Sol is exactly what they need, but it could work. It certainly would still be its own draw, but I�m not sure it would boost the sales of L�Occitane lines.

  • Deb

    L�Occitane has seemed to remain consistent over the years with their products. To the best of my knowledge, they don�t monkey around with their formulas and have kept the quality high. I hope they do the same with this acquisition. It would be a total bummer if they messed with the Sol De Janeiro formulas. Especially the fragrance.

  • Chris

    I worry because when companies acquire other ones, certain formulas of popular items get altered & not in a good way. Remember when Coty bought Philosophy & all the complaints of scents changing on the lotions?