復星加入競標英國護膚品零售商
China’s Fosun has become the latest Chinese group to gatecrash the 800m auction to buy The Body Shop, the struggling British skincare retailer, which has been put up for sale by French cosmetics group L’Oréal.
中國復星(Fosun)成爲最新一家主動參與競購The Body Shop的中資集團。法國化妝品集團歐萊雅(L’Oréal)計劃以8億歐元出售這家陷入困境的英國護膚品零售商。According to two people close to the process, Fosun submitted an offer before a Monday deadline for second round bids. The move marks a high-profile return to bidding for European assets for Fosun, which was one of China’s most acquisitive groups before a domestic clampdown threw a spanner into its dealmaking attempts.
據兩名知情人透露，復星在週一第二輪投標的最後期限前提交了報價。此舉標誌着復星高調恢復投資歐洲資產；在被國內監管行動阻擋交易嘗試之前，復星是中國最具收購意識的集團之一。It comes as Investindustrial, a European private equity firm, has invited the investment vehicle of Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma to join its consortium bid and as China’s Renhe Pharmacy Co has also considered entering the process.
此前歐洲私募股權公司Investindustrial已邀請阿里巴巴(Alibaba)創始人馬雲(Jack Ma)的投資工具加入其聯合投標，中國仁和藥業(Renhe Pharmacy Co)也在考慮加入這一進程。
CVC, one of Europe’s private equity largest firms, also submitted a bid and is seen as a strong contender given its experience in carving out units out of large conglomerates and the fact that it is working with Emmanuel Osti, the former boss of L’Occitane, another fragrance and body product retailer.
歐洲最大的私人股本公司之一CVC也提交了收購要約，並被視爲一家強有力的競爭者，因爲其在剝離大型企業集團的業務部門方面經驗豐富，也因爲該公司正與另一家香水和護膚品零售商歐舒丹(L'Occitane)的前老闆Emmanuel Osti合作。CVC tried to pre-empt the auction process, which L’Oréal formally announced in February, with a 650m offer that was declined, two people briefed on the process previously told the FT.
兩名此前聽取過競標進程簡報的人士向英國《金融時報》表示，CVC曾試圖在歐萊雅今年2月正式宣佈拍賣前先發制人，提出6.5億歐元的報價，但遭到拒絕。Another private equity group Advent had expressed interest but dropped out of the race after realising the challenges of bringing an “old and tired” brand back to its former glory, a person familiar with the decision said.
一名知情人士表示，另一傢俬人股本集團Advent也曾表示感興趣，但在意識到讓一個“老舊”品牌恢復昔日輝煌要面臨的諸多挑戰後，退出了競標。Brazilian cosmetics firm Natura has also been linked to bids.
巴西化妝品公司Natura據稱也參與了競標。
