Macfarlanes has joined a roster of leading French firms including Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier and BDGS Associés securing roles on L’Oréal’s €4bn acquisition of Kering’s beauty division.
French corporate firm Darrois is lead counsel to luxury goods company Kering, a longstanding client of the firm, with Macfarlanes handing English law aspects of the deal for Kering.
L’Oréal, which announced its agreement to acquire well-known fragrance line House of Creed from Kering as well as licences for cosmetics from household names including Gucci and Balenciaga, has turned to BDGS for advice.
The deal, which is due to complete in the first half of 2026, gives L’Oréal two 50-year licences to create, develop and distribute beauty products from Kering’s well-known brands.
Darrois’ team includes M&A partners Bertrand Cardi, Christophe Vinsonneau, Forrest Alogna, Laurent Gautier and Cécile de Narp, as well as tax partner Vincent Agulhon and antitrust partner Guillaume Aubron.
Macfarlanes handled English law and IP aspects of the transaction, with M&A partner Harry Coghill and antitrust partner Malcolm Walton leading a team that also includes senior counsel Martha Campbell.
LB understands that French firms Fromont Briens and Arsène Taxand also have roles for Kering.
BDGS is fielding a team for L’Oréal that includes corporate partners Antoine Bonnasse and Jérôme du Chazaud, competition partners Antoine Gosset-Grainville, Maria Trabucchi and François Gordon and tax partner Guillaume Jolly.
LB understands that CMS Francis Lefebvre and 8Advisory are also advising L’Oréal on tax aspects of the transaction. At CMS the team includes partners Bruno Gibert, Edouard Milhac and Xavier Daluzeau, with 8Advisory’s team including Guillaume Rembry and Hubert Christophe.
Darrois has regularly advised Kering in the past. In 2023, the firm advised the global luxury group on its acquisition of a 30% stake in Valentino for €1.7 m.
L’Oréal has turned to a number of leading international firms for advice on recent deals. The company’s largest recent acquisition before this saw Latham & Watkins advise when L’Oréal acquired Aesop for €2.3bn.
