By Michael Elkins
Cosmetics giant Estée Lauder (NYSE:EL) has entered into talks to purchase luxury fashion brand, Tom Ford, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday citing people familiar with the matter.
The report added, however, that there are no guarantees the two sides will reach an agreement. Bloomberg reported in early July that Tom Ford was for sale, and Estée Lauder wasn't the only interested suitor.
Estée Lauder has been an active acquirer over the years. It paid around $1 billion each to buy the rest of Canadian beauty company Deciem Inc. in 2021 and the Korean skin-care company Have & Be Co. in 2019. A few years prior, it paid around $1.5 billion for Too Faced Cosmetics LLC.
The potential deal with Tom Ford could be worth as much as $3 billion and would represent Estée Lauder’s largest-ever acquisition.