BUSINESS : British-Dutch Firm Buys Faberge

Faberge Inc. of the United States is selling its toiletries, cosmetics and fragrance businesses, including Elizabeth Arden, to the Unilever Group for $1.55 billion in cash, it was announced today.

The deal will give Unilever, the British-Dutch consumer products giant, ownership of such brand names as Faberge, Elizabeth Arden, Brut, Aqua Net, Chloe and Lagerfeld. Faberge and its Elizabeth Arden subsidiary are owned by Meshulam Riklis’ Riklis Family Corp. and have headquarters in New York. The units being sold had combined sales of more than $800 million and operating profits of $100 million in their latest fiscal year.