Estee Lauder and Puig have called off the merger discussions that would have brought together their respective cosmetics, skin-care and fragrance brands, including Clinique and Jean Paul Gaultier, the companies said in a statement released late Thursday.
In the announcement, Estee Lauder said the talks with Puig—confirmed earlier this year—have ended without an agreement. Estee Lauder CEO Stéphane de la Faverie said the company is “grateful for the conversations we have had with Puig” and that it is “reiterating our confidence in the power of our incredible brands, our talented teams, and our strength as a standalone company,” according to a prepared statement.
The potential combination would have created a larger portfolio of beauty and fragrance names. The deal talks at one point were described as having the potential to place brands such as MAC, Clinique, Charlotte Tilbury and Jean Paul Gaultier under one corporate roof, with Puig’s lineup spanning makeup, skin care and fragrance.
Puig, which oversees brands including Nina Ricci, Jean Paul Gaultier and Dr. Barbara Sturm, also said earlier this year that it would be part of the discussions that Estee Lauder confirmed in March. Puig went public on the Madrid Stock Exchange in early 2024.
Estee Lauder has said it is pursuing major changes to its business model in parallel with its deal talks. In February 2025, the company said it could cut as many as 7,000 jobs by fiscal 2026—more than 11% of its workforce—describing the effort as a shift to an operating model “leaner, faster, and more agile,” De La Faverie said in prior remarks.
Shares of Estee Lauder rose more than 12% in early trading Friday following the announcement that the merger talks have ended, according to the report.
For now, the brands that were expected to align under the talks—such as Clinique and Jean Paul Gaultier—remain part of separate corporate structures, with Estee Lauder framing the outcome as a reaffirmation of its plans to operate on its own.