Puig seeks to leave behind the non-merger with the American Estée Lauder. Just a few days after announcing the breakdown of business combination talks with the American family company, the Catalan multinational of premium beauty has asserted itself before its shareholders. In his address at the general shareholders' meeting, held virtually this Friday, CEO Marc Puig highlighted the company's performance and the founding family's continued involvement. "We are not for sale," he stated, before assuring that the majority shareholders' intention is to "stay for the long term." The scenario, he argued, would have been "the same" had the transatlantic merger operation been completed. "We have a history of over 110 years to back us up," the executive added.

When I read that Puig and Estée Lauder were interrupting merger talks, I wasn't surprised. I don't have inside information. Call it intuition. Or memory. But, from what I knew of the company, I never quite saw clearly that it could work out. And, in a way, the news made me happy.I explain it from three perspectives.The first is personal. My first job was at Antonio Puig. It was 1991. The offices were on Travessera de Gràcia. The first day, don Mariano Puig received me. When years later I left, it was also he who said goodbye to me. Marc Puig had his office two or three doors from mine. In marketing, we were barely a dozen people. We often went to the factory on Potosí street. There I learned a great deal. The family delegated and gave people a huge amount of freedom.But, above all, I saw a family business in the deepest sense of the term. Not as a synonym for small, but for responsibility. For lived ownership. For commitment to the long term. For a way of understanding the business that did not entirely separate the surname, the project, and the country.I understand that family companies change. Branches multiply. Generations succeed each other. Management becomes complicated. Sometimes a moment comes when selling, merging, or diluting control seems reasonable. But, at least the Puig I knew, was not a Puig designed to lose command. It was not imaginable. It was not part of its culture.The second plan is for the country. Puig is listed on the stock exchange, yes, but it continues to be controlled by a Catalan family. The family retains around three-quarters of the capital and more than 90% of the voting rights. Companies with their decision-making center here generate rootedness, suppliers, talent, sponsorships, taxation, presence.In an operation with Estée Lauder, by relative dimension, it was difficult to think that real control would not end up shifting. Perhaps not on the first day. Perhaps not in the first board meeting. But these things happen slowly. First structures are shared. Then functions are rationalized. Later decisions are transferred. And one day you discover that a company from here no longer fully decides from here. We would have lost a part of Puig's Catalan identity.The third plan is economic. It was not a merger of equals. Estée Lauder invoices more than double Puig, but loses almost a billion when Puig earns 600 million. Valuations are very difficult.Be that as it may, Puig continues to be a great company. A company that began selling colognes and soaps, door-to-door, in a Seat 600 on the roads of Spain, and which has managed to become a global multinational in luxury, perfumery, fashion, and beauty.There aren't so many stories like this. They must be taken care of.

The market punishes Puig for broken talks for the merger with Estée Lauder. The Catalan multinational of premium beauty has plummeted more than 13% on the day after the talks ended without an agreement. At Friday's market close, the stock fell to 15.18 euros, after closing on Thursday evening at around 18 euros. With this move, the titles of the perfume multinational are moving further away from the price of the stock market debut it undertook in 2024, around 24.5 euros. Estée Lauder shares, on the contrary, show a strong recovery: around 12 noon in New York, two hours after the start of the session, they were up 9.4%, to 86.3 dollars.

"If I'm asked, I think the options between merging or not merging Puig Brands with the American Estée Lauder are at 50%.". This is the statement of a person who knows the negotiations between the two family beauty and fashion companies, which became known at the end of March. One of the points that makes it difficult to reach an agreement is the price of the Catalan group, which is worth around 10 billion euros, compared to Estée Lauder's 30 billion dollars (26 billion euros).

There are developments in the beauty, cosmetics, and perfume sector. The Catalan company Puig Brands confirmed tonight that it is in talks with the American company Estée Lauder, also majority-owned by the family. In a statement to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the group controlled by the Puig family acknowledged that these negotiations are taking place, as previously reported by [the Spanish news outlet]. Financial TimesIn the same statement, the multinational—which owns brands such as Paco Rabanne, Nina Ricci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Byredo, Charlotte Tilbury, and Carolina Herrera, among others—adds that the talks are focused on "a possible combination of businesses with The Estée Lauder Companies Inc." In any case, they assure that "no final decision has been made nor has any agreement been reached." And they add that "until there is an agreement, there is no guarantee that a transaction will take place, nor its terms." The Wall Street Journal Information has emerged about the operation, which would create a cosmetics giant valued at over €30 billion. Following news of the talks, shares of the US firm fell by more than 8% on the stock market. Estée Lauder is larger than Puig Brands, which also has a portion of its capital publicly traded. The US group's value is around $30 billion – it fell to $28 billion on Monday – while Estée Lauder's is valued at approximately $9 billion. IPO

The Catalan group, which debuted on the stock exchange on May 3, 2024, launched at €24.50 per share, a price it has not yet recovered. This Monday, it closed at €15.57, up 3.59%. The family that owns the Catalan multinational, with a 112-year history, retained more than 90% of the voting rights despite its IPO. In 2025, Puig reported net revenues of €5.042 billion, a 5.3% increase, and profits of €594 million, an 11.9% increase.

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