L’Occitane International SA fell by the most on record after its billionaire chairman ended deliberations on a potential deal to take the skin-care company private, a move that would have added to a series of similar buyout deals in Hong Kong.
Shares dropped about 28% to HK$19.90 each in pre-market in Hong Kong as trading resumed on Tuesday. The company was informed by its controlling shareholder on Sept. 3 that it’s decided not to proceed with the possible transaction, it said in an exchange filing Monday. It didn’t provided reasons for the decision.
Bloomberg News first revealed in July that L’Occitane Chairman Reinold Geiger was studying the possibility of taking the company private. A vehicle ultimately controlled by Geiger owns more than 70% of L’Occitane, which had a market value of about $5.2 billion before the Monday announcement.
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