L’Oréal to pay $3.7bn for Melbourne-founded luxury cosmetics brand Aesop

The sale represents the largest known price for a luxury brand established in Australia

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French skincare company L'Oreal will pay US$2.5bn ($3.7bn) to buy Melbourne-founded Aesop, a luxury cosmetics, shampoo and bodycare brand that has worked its way into luxury hotels and bathrooms around the world.

The deal is designed to help Aesop's Brazilian owner, Natura &Co, pay down debt, with the price tag showcasing the runaway value of a brand founded by Melbourne hairdresser, Dennis Paphitis, in 1987.

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