The American multinational cosmetics company, Estee Lauder, has confirmed that it is buying the American luxury fashion and cosmetics brand, Tom Ford.
Tom Ford is the favorite fashion brand of Nigerian billionaire businessman Femi Otedola, who tags the brand in almost all of his Instagram posts.
Otedola’s daughters – Tolani, DJ Cuppy and Temi – bought him a bespoke Tom Ford suit for his 60th birthday. The costume had a note personally signed by the designer himself.
The acquisition values Tom Ford, a longtime partner of Estee Lauder, at $2.8 billion, CNN reports.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year and will be completed through a combination of cash, debt and deferred payments that will be due in 2025.
Estee Lauder and Tom Ford have been partners for over 15 years and together launched the Tom Ford Beauty brand in 2006.
Tom Ford, designer and founder of his eponymous brand, will remain with the brand when the deal closes next year as a “creative visionary”.
“As a private label, this strategic acquisition will unlock new opportunities and strengthen our growth plans for Tom Ford Beauty,” Estée Lauder Companies President and CEO Fabrizio Freda said in a statement.
The company revealed that it expects annual sales of Tom Ford’s cosmetics brand, Tom Ford Beauty, to reach $1 billion over the next few years.
Ford also revealed his delight at the acquisition saying he “couldn’t be happier with this acquisition because The Estée Lauder Companies is the perfect home for the brand.
“They’ve been an amazing partner since day one of my founding the company and I’m thrilled to see them become the stewards of luxury in this next chapter,” Ford added.
Tom Ford founded his eponymous fashion brand in 2005 after working as creative director at two other luxury fashion houses, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (YSL). The brand produces ready-to-wear and bespoke clothing as well as shoes, accessories and handbags.
The brand also produces cosmetics under its beauty brand, Tom Ford Beauty, perfumes and eyewear.
Estee Lauder was founded in 1946 by American businesswoman Estee Lauder and her husband Joseph. It is a manufacturer and marketer of makeup, skin care, fragrance and hair care products.
It is the second largest cosmetics company in the world after the French cosmetics and personal care company, L’Oréal, and it owns 23 other cosmetics, fragrance and hair care brands, including its eponymous cosmetics brand, Estee Lauder, MAC Cosmetics and Clinique.
