Shiseido in negotiations to sell personal care business to CVC

Japanese beauty giant Shiseido confirmed on Friday that it is in negotiations with CVC to sell the investment fund its personal care business, the value of which Bloomberg estimates to be over $1.45 billion.

According to a press release from the brand, Shiseido "is currently in discussions with CVC Asia Pacific Limited regarding a transfer" of the business, which brings together shampoos, shower gels and other skincare products that are primarily distributed in Asia. 

The sale could be completed in the first half of 2021, but "no formal decisions have been made as of yet," clarified Shiseido. The price of the deal could be between 150 and 200 billion yen ($1.45 billion to $1.93 billion), according to financial news agency Bloomberg, which reported on the ongoing negotiations earlier on Friday, citing sources close to the matter. 

Having struggled due to the pandemic last year, Shiseido is intending to push forward with a strategy that will see the company focus its positioning on high-end cosmetics, a segment of which the group aims to be the global leader by 2030. 

In addition, the company explained that its consumer product activities in Asia no longer correspond to its core operations and require significant investments in terms of product development and advertising.

Strongly affected by the surge in the spread of the coronavirus in the United States and Europe, as well as by persistently low consumption in Japan, in November Shiseido announced that it expected to report an annual net loss of 30 billion yen (around $290 million) in fiscal 2020. Sales for the year were predicted to fall to 915 billion yen ($8.9 billion), a 19.1% decline compared to the previous year. 

The group is planning to report its full 2020 financial results on February 9. Shares in Shiseido saw a clear uptick on the Tokyo Stock Exchange following the group's announcements on Friday, rising 4.9% to 7,107 yen around 2.20 AM GMT, when the Nikkei was down 0.39%.