Sao Paolo, Brazil-based direct seller Natura Cosmeticos SA is among the final bidders that L’Oreal SA has chosen for the next round of the auction for The Body Shop, L’Oreal’s lotions and soaps retailer founded by British entrepreneur Anita Roddick in 1976.
Natura joins private equity bidders CVC Capital Partners, Advent International Corp. and Investindustrial Advisors SpA as the firms vying for the company, which L’Oreal bought more than a decade ago in a deal that valued it at 652 million pounds (US$833 million).
L’Oreal said this week that it hasn’t yet made a decision on the future of the chain, which saw operating profit drop 38 percent to 33.8 million euros last year. According to people close to the matter, The Body Shop drew initial bids from 15 companies, with those bids coming