Galderma has signed a memorandum of understanding with L’Oréal to work towards a new research and development collaboration in the form of a scientific partnership, announced the Swiss company in a statement.
The move aims to “accelerate innovation in the field of dermatology,” in particular against “the signs of skin aging,” explained Galderma.
This partnership “will leverage the undisputed expertise of both companies,” highlighted L’Oréal in a separate statement. It will also enables the French group to foray into the fast-growing aesthetics market. “A key adjacency to our own pure beauty play,” said Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Officer of L’Oréal.
Minority stake
L’Oréal has also announced the acquisition of a 10% stake in Galderma from Sunshine SwissCo AG (a consortium led by Swedish investment firm EQT), as well as from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Auba Investment, for a non-disclosed amount.
The transaction will be funded with the company’s available cash and credit lines, said L’Oréal. Closing is expected to be completed in the coming days, however L’Oréal will not be represented at Galderma’s Board of Directors.
Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Galderma markets dermatology products. The company’s portfolio includes skin care and dermatological brands such as Cetaphil, as well as injectable aesthetics (such as hyaluronic acid), and therapeutic dermatology solutions. The group, which employs 6,500 people worldwide, achieved a turnover of 4 billion dollars in 2023.
L’Oréal used to be one of Galderma’s historical shareholders. Indeed, the company was born in 1981 from a partnership between L’Oréal and Swiss food giant Nestlé. The two groups had created a joint venture in dermatology before Nestlé bought L’Oréal’s shares in 2014.
However, this diversification of the global food giant into skin care had struggled to convince investors and, in 2019, Nestlé finally sold the company to the Swedish investment firm EQT and to a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for 10.2 billion Swiss francs.
"Today, it’s a completely different company," Nicolas Hieronimus said at a conference with financial analysts, highlighting the beauty market has also changed with the rise of injectable aesthetic products. According to the L’Oréal boss, the group’s goal is to "learn more" about this category.
In March 2024, the dermatology laboratory was introduced to the Swiss stock exchange, where it made a spectacular debut and is currently valued at more than 17 billion euros.
"This new partnership with L’Oréal is a surprise," noted Stefan Schneider, an analyst at Vontobel, in a stock market commentary on Monday. "But it makes sense, since these two dermatology specialists can jointly develop new innovative products in the field of skin aging, a large and growing market," he said.
