French fund buys Payot skin care company from Spain's Puig

PARIS, France - LBO France has acquired skin care company Payot from Spanish perfume group Puig, a spokesman for the French private equity firm said on Friday, confirming a report by daily newspaper Le Figaro.

LBO France would not disclose the financial terms of the deal, however, which Le Figaro said valued Payot between 30 and 40 million euros ($38-$50 million).

The French fund acquired an 80 percent stake in Payot alongside a new management team led by Italian cosmetics entrepreneur Andrea Surliuga, the spokesman said.

Payot, founded in the 1920s and based in the Paris suburb of Neuilly, had belonged to Puig since 2001.

The company markets high-end skin care products and salon treatments, and posted sales of around 25 million euros last year, of which 70 percent were outside its home market.

Payot products are mainly sold in beauty salons and compete with brands like Decleor and Carita, recently acquired by L'Oreal, and Beiersdorf's La Prairie. (1 US dollar = 0.7881 euro).