Billionaire Geiger nears L’Occitane buyout

New direction: Beauty products on sale at a L’Occitane store in Madrid, Spain. Geiger is close to a deal to take the company private, people familiar with the matter say, potentially ending its 14-year run on Hong Kong’s stock exchange. — Bloomberg

NEW YORK: L’Occitane International SA’s billionaire owner Reinold Geiger is close to making an offer to take the skin-care company private, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that could value the firm at about US$7bil, including debt.

Geiger is considering making an offer for the L’Occitane shares he doesn’t already own at HK$33 to HK$34 apiece, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private.