P&G puts German fragrances up for sale

Procter & Gamble has put a number of its Cosmopolitan Cosmetics fragrances, including one of Germany's best known fragrances along with its listed headquarters in Cologne, up for sale.

The 4711 eau de cologne was first registered in 1875 and was bought in 1992 by Cosmopolitan Cosmetics/Wella. The company has put fellow Cosmopolitan Cosmetics fragrances Tosca, Sir Irisch Moos and Extase on the block too.

“The luxury toiletries business does not fit with the Procter & Gamble worldwide strategy to better focus our resources on those brands that offer the greatest global growth potential, but could represent a very interesting proposition for someone else,” explained the company.

The future of Cosmopolitan's German-focused fragrance and toiletry portfolio has come into question ever since its purchase by P&G in 2003, and the 2005 sale of Yardley to Lornamead only served to fuel further speculation.

P&G has refused to divulge its asking price for the fragrances but analysts expect it to hit the £50m mark. It says that several companies have expressed an interest in the brands and is confident that the eventual purchaser will make good their growth potential. Forty of the 900 employees in Cologne are expected to lose their jobs.