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A marriage called off. Luxury cosmetics leaders Puig and Est\u00e9e Lauder<\/b> announced on Thursday, May 21, in separate press releases<\/a>, the end of negotiations regarding a potential merger of their companies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This deal could have created a group with $20 billion in revenue (approximately \u20ac17 billion). By comparison, its competitor L\u2019Or\u00e9al is worth \u20ac44.05 billion<\/b> and generated a net profit of \u20ac6.13 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Puig, the Spanish owner of brands such as Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Uriage<\/b>, stated through its CEO Jose Manuel Albes that this decision did not alter its \u201cstrategic roadmap.\u201d \u201cWe continue to build on our strengths in premium beauty,\u201d said the businessman, who went on to describe his discussions with Est\u00e9e Lauder as \u201cenriching\u201d .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The same sentiment was echoed by the American company that owns Bobbi Brown, MAC Cosmetics, and La Mer<\/b>. \u201cToday, we reaffirm our confidence in the power of our incredible brands, our talented teams, and our strength as an independent company,\u201d said St\u00e9phane de La Faverie, Chairman and CEO of The Est\u00e9e Lauder Companies, in the press release. The French executive also expressed his \u201cgratitude for the conversations\u201d he had with Puig.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe are more optimistic than ever about our ability to unlock significant long-term value through Beauty Reimagined, and we remain focused on accelerating this progress,\u201d he added. Between October and the end of December 2025, the Est\u00e9e Lauder group reported revenue of $4.23 billion with net income of $162 million for the period. Puig, for its part, generated more than \u20ac5 billion in sales<\/a> and a profit of \u20ac600 million in 2025.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nA tense context<\/b><\/h2>\n