Puig and Estée Lauder confirm merger negotiations

Madrid – A potential, and it must be stressed potential, merger of giants in the fashion and beauty world is on the horizon. Both the Spanish company Puig, owner of Carolina Herrera and Jean Paul Gaultier, and the US-based The Estée Lauder Companies, which owns Tom Ford, Clinique and Mac, have confirmed they are in negotiations to merge. This deal would lay the foundation for a giant with annual sales of nearly 20 billion dollars.

Late on Monday evening, March 23, 2026, Puig's management issued an official statement. They announced that the Spanish fashion and beauty multinational is in negotiations for a possible merger with The Estée Lauder Companies. This information was simultaneously confirmed by the management of the US beauty multinational. They specified that the parties have not yet reached any agreement. There is no guarantee that the transaction will be completed, nor what its terms might be.

“Puig confirms that it is in discussions regarding a possible business combination with The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., which would involve the potential merger of the business of both companies,” Puig's management announced in the aforementioned statement sent to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). However, it was pointed out that “no definitive decision has been made nor has any agreement been reached.” They also specified that “as long as there is no agreement, there can be no guarantee that a transaction will take place or what its terms will be”.

A 20 billion dollar turnover giant

While the terms of a deal cannot be analysed at this time, as both parties confirm no formal agreement or pre-agreement exists, it is possible to explore its potential. This can be done by examining the annual balance sheets for their respective 2025 fiscal years. Puig completed its fiscal year between January 1 and December 31 of last year with net revenues of 5.04 billion euros (+5.26 percent). The Estée Lauder's fiscal year ran from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, with net sales of 14.33 billion dollars (-8.21 percent). This figure, converted to euros at the current exchange rate, would represent about 12.37 billion euros. Combined with Puig's revenues, the total would be 17.41 billion euros, or about 20.17 billion dollars at current exchange rates.

In terms of sales, it is clear which of the two parties would be the dominant one in these negotiations. However, looking at profits, Puig completed its last fiscal year with a net profit of 617 million euros (+13.74 percent). This was a very positive performance, completely opposite to that of The Estée Lauder, which closed its last full fiscal year in 2025 with a net loss of 1.13 billion dollars. This negative performance was due to several factors, including the execution of its strategic restructuring plan. It would have swallowed Puig's profits if not for the now positive data the US company has started to record in the first months of its current 2025/2026 fiscal year. For this fiscal year, as of last December 31, it completed the first half with sales of 7.71 billion dollars (+4.68 percent). It posted a positive net profit of 209 million dollars, compared to a loss of 746 million dollars in the same period of the previous year.

Regarding their respective values as listed companies, Puig had a market capitalisation of 8.77 billion euros as of the close of trading on Monday, March 23. Its enterprise value was 9.5 billion euros. Meanwhile, The Estée Lauder has a market capitalisation of 26.68 billion dollars and an EV of about 34.99 billion dollars. If the deal is completed, these combined values would lead to the creation of a giant worth nearly 40 billion euros.

Two broad (and diversified) portfolios

Regarding what each company would bring to the new combined fashion and beauty entity, Puig was founded in 1914 by Antonio Puig Castelló as a cosmetics and fragrance company. Over its 112-year history, the Spanish multinational has built an extensive and diversified portfolio of fashion and beauty brands. Just last week, Puig restructured its management bodies, appointing Jose Manuel Albesa as its new CEO. This portfolio includes brands such as Rabanne; Carolina Herrera; Charlotte Tilbury; Jean Paul Gaultier; Nina Ricci; Dries Van Noten; Byredo; Penhaligon’s; L’Artisan Perfumeur; Uriage; Apivita; Dr. Barbara Sturm; Kama Ayurveda and Loto del Sur. It is complemented by licences for firms and trademarks like Christian Louboutin, Antonio Banderas and Adolfo Domínguez. Puig markets its products in more than 150 countries worldwide.

On The Estée Lauder Companies' side, founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder, the company is one of the largest and most representative global companies. It specialises in the manufacture, marketing and sale of skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. It develops and sells these items under the umbrella of more than 20 renowned brands. These include Estée Lauder, the company's own brand from which the Estée Lauder group was formed; Aramis; Clinique; Lab Series; Origins; the cosmetics firm MAC; Bobbi Brown; La Mer; Aveda; Jo Malone London; Bumble and Bumble; Darphin; Tom Ford, which it owns outright; Smashbox Cosmetics; Aerin; Le Labo; Les Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle; Glamglow; Kilian; Too Faced; the Korean Dr.Jart+; the Canadian Deciem Beauty Group, parent of The Ordinary and Niod trademarks; and Balmain Beauty, managed through a licensing agreement. As we can see, this is an extensive portfolio of commercial brands, whose products The Estée Lauder Companies markets and distributes in approximately 150 countries as well.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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