The L’Occitane Group has acquired luxury British skin care brand, Elemis, for $900 million in cash. It is owned by Steiner Leisure Limited, a portfolio company of L Catterton that focuses on global consumer investments.

Reinold Geiger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of L’Occitane, said the acquisition is an important step forward in building a leading portfolio of premium beauty brands. Its current umbrella includes L’Occitane en Provence, Melvita, Erborian, L’Occitane au Brésil and LimeLife by Alcone.

The acquisition will support Elemis’ strong market position and help fuel the momentum of its global expansion. Since its launch in 1990, the British skin care brand has garnered strong cross-generational consumer appeal, attracting Millennials while maintaining loyal Gen X and Baby Boomers with its offering of four skin care franchises designed for different aspects of the consumer journey. The brand capitalizes on five strategic distribution channels – digital, retail distribution, QVC, professional spa and maritime – to drive awareness, trial, conversion and retention across the omni-channel.

“Elemis is well positioned for continued global growth due to the brand’s broad appeal, award-winning product portfolio, robust new product development pipeline and effective consumer-focused digital and brick-and-mortar distribution strategy,” he said. “We look forward to utilizing our expertise in the category to expand the brand’s footprint around the world.”

Sean Harrington, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Elemis said, “Reinold has a strong history of developing and supporting brands like ours that are creating products sourced from nature and developed through cutting edge science and technology. With his inspiring and entrepreneurial leadership, I am confident that through this transaction, we can continue to realize our mission of delivering extraordinary products and experiences and grow Elemis into one of the leading skin care brands in the world.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.Jefferies and Nomura acted as financial advisors to Elemis, and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor.