(Reuters) – Estee Lauder is close to a deal to buy the Tom Ford brand for around $2.8 billion (2.7 billion euros) including debt, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing sources at the fact of the file.
The luxury brand, founded by the stylist of the same name, entered exclusive negotiations with Estee Lauder this week and an agreement could be announced as early as Monday, the British business daily said.
The acquisition of Tom Ford would be the biggest ever for Estee Lauder, the US cosmetics maker which last year took full control of Canadian beauty products group Deciem for around $1 billion.
Neither Estee Lauder nor Tom Ford immediately responded to a request for comment.
Estee Lauder shares were up about 4% late Friday on Wall Street.
The Wall Street Journal reported on August 1 that Estee Lauder was in talks to acquire the fashion brand. The same newspaper, however, reported in early November that Kering was also in advanced talks to buy Tom Ford.
(Written by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bangalore, French version Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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