Puig's stock price soars on the news of a possible merger with Estée Lauder

BarcelonaPuig's shares surged almost 15% in the early stages of trading on Tuesday after reporting on Monday, at the close of the market, who is in talks with the American Estée Lauder to study a possible business merger. At 10 a.m., Puig Brands shares were trading at €17.79, up 14.26%, making it the top performer on the Ibex 35. According to a statement released Monday night by the Catalan perfume and cosmetics company to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), no final decision has been made, nor has any agreement been reached between the parties. The company emphasized that, without a firm agreement, it cannot guarantee that the transaction will materialize or on what terms. On March 17, Puig's board of directors appointed José Manuel Albesa as CEO, replacing Marc Puig, who resigned but remains executive chairman. In addition, Miquel Àngel Serra was also appointed as finance director to replace Joan Albiol. However, Albiol will retain his duties as non-member secretary of the board of directors.

A merger would create an industry giant with a market capitalization of over €30 billion. Estée Lauder is almost three times larger than Puig, and, as is always the case, the shares of the larger company, in this instance Estée Lauder, fell by 7.72% on the US stock exchange. Conversely, as is typical, the shares of the smaller company, in this case Puig, soared on the trading floor.

Estée Lauder is larger than Puig Brands, which also has a portion of its capital publicly traded. The value of the US group is around $30 billion – it fell to $28 billion yesterday, Monday – and that of the Catalan company is around $9 billion. Puig, headquartered in Hospitalet de Llobregat, owns brands such as Paco Rabanne, Nina Ricci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Byredo, Charlotte Tilbury, and Carolina Herrera, among others.