Estée Lauder in talks for ~$6 billion Puig takeover; cuts up to 10,000 jobs

Estée Lauder confirmed active discussions on a potential business combination with Puig (Carolina Herrera, Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier, Charlotte Tilbury) in March 2026, then engaged JPMorgan in April to structure a ~€5B ($5.9B) financing package. In May, ELC simultaneously announced 3,000 additional job cuts — bringing total planned reductions to 9,000–10,000, with 70%+ targeting department stores as it pivots toward Ulta, Sephora, Amazon, and TikTok Shop. A combined ELC-Puig would generate ~$20B in annual sales — a direct counterweight to L'Oréal's post-Kering Beauté portfolio.