The Brazilian antitrust watchdog Cade has approved L'Oréal’s US$2.5bn acquisition of Aesop.
The country’s regulator stated its approval is considered definitive unless an appeal is filed within the next 15 days.
It comes after L'Oréal bought the Australian luxury cosmetics brand last month, ending its decade-long ownership under Natura & Co.
The deal is expected to be completed by Q3 2023, and the French cosmetics goliath plans to expand the brand’s presence in China and invest into its travel retail operations.
Natura & Co first began considering selling a minority stake in the brand in December 2022.
An IPO was considered at the time, but volatile markets forced Natura to focus on a stake sale instead.
An intense bidding war then followed between rival beauty giants LVMH, led by the world’s richest man Bernard Arnault, and Shiseido.
“Aesop is the epitome of avant-garde beauty, whose products are not only made with great care and exceptional attention to detail; they are a superb combination of urbanity, hedonism and undeniable luxury,” said Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L’Oréal, at the time.
The sale ultimately aimed to strengthen the Brazilian beauty manufacturer balance sheet, allowing for further investments to be made into the Latin American market.
Natura also plans to improve The Body Shop’s business model, which has seen straggling sales in recent years.
