复星加入竞标英国护肤品零售商
China’s Fosun has become the latest Chinese group to gatecrash the 800m auction to buy The Body Shop, the struggling British skincare retailer, which has been put up for sale by French cosmetics group L’Oréal.
中国复星(Fosun)成为最新一家主动参与竞购The Body Shop的中资集团。法国化妆品集团欧莱雅(L’Oréal)计划以8亿欧元出售这家陷入困境的英国护肤品零售商。According to two people close to the process, Fosun submitted an offer before a Monday deadline for second round bids. The move marks a high-profile return to bidding for European assets for Fosun, which was one of China’s most acquisitive groups before a domestic clampdown threw a spanner into its dealmaking attempts.
据两名知情人透露，复星在周一第二轮投标的最后期限前提交了报价。此举标志着复星高调恢复投资欧洲资产；在被国内监管行动阻挡交易尝试之前，复星是中国最具收购意识的集团之一。It comes as Investindustrial, a European private equity firm, has invited the investment vehicle of Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma to join its consortium bid and as China’s Renhe Pharmacy Co has also considered entering the process.
此前欧洲私募股权公司Investindustrial已邀请阿里巴巴(Alibaba)创始人马云(Jack Ma)的投资工具加入其联合投标，中国仁和药业(Renhe Pharmacy Co)也在考虑加入这一进程。
CVC, one of Europe’s private equity largest firms, also submitted a bid and is seen as a strong contender given its experience in carving out units out of large conglomerates and the fact that it is working with Emmanuel Osti, the former boss of L’Occitane, another fragrance and body product retailer.
欧洲最大的私人股本公司之一CVC也提交了收购要约，并被视为一家强有力的竞争者，因为其在剥离大型企业集团的业务部门方面经验丰富，也因为该公司正与另一家香水和护肤品零售商欧舒丹(L'Occitane)的前老板Emmanuel Osti合作。CVC tried to pre-empt the auction process, which L’Oréal formally announced in February, with a 650m offer that was declined, two people briefed on the process previously told the FT.
两名此前听取过竞标进程简报的人士向英国《金融时报》表示，CVC曾试图在欧莱雅今年2月正式宣布拍卖前先发制人，提出6.5亿欧元的报价，但遭到拒绝。Another private equity group Advent had expressed interest but dropped out of the race after realising the challenges of bringing an “old and tired” brand back to its former glory, a person familiar with the decision said.
一名知情人士表示，另一家私人股本集团Advent也曾表示感兴趣，但在意识到让一个“老旧”品牌恢复昔日辉煌要面临的诸多挑战后，退出了竞标。Brazilian cosmetics firm Natura has also been linked to bids.
巴西化妆品公司Natura据称也参与了竞标。
