Puig acquires Byredo for 1 billion dollars

After weeks of speculation which beauty powerhouse would make the winning bid for Byredo, the Swedish fragrance and accessories company known for its minimalist packaging and gender neutral perfumes will be acquired by Puig.

Earlier this month a French news outlet reportedL’Oreal, the world’s largest beauty conglomerate, was set to acquire Byredo, which at the time was valued at 1.05 billion dollars. Estée Lauder and Puig were also said to be in the running, with the latter confirming its acquisition on Tuesday.

The Spanish group did not reveal the financial terms of the transaction, but Byredo’s revenue in 2021 was 119 million euros. Typical valuations are 6 to 10 times the multiple of annual sales if a company reports consistent two digit growth, making the sale value likely to be around 1 billion dollars.

Byredo, which stands for By Redolence, was founded in 2006 by Ben Gorham and acquired by UK investment firm Manzanita Capital in 2013. Its hero products of candles and fragrances include the evocative scents Bibliotheque, Open Sky and Gypsy Water.

Byredo joins Puig’s portfolio of fragrances which include L’Artisan Parfumeur and Penhaligon’s. Most of its other brands are of the duty-free friendly genre, like Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne and Carolina Herrera. Byredo will be the group’s first foray into owning a modern fragrance house that scores high on the niche desirability scale yet has global commercial growth potential and a solid direct to consumer business.