Gucci Group to Acquire Sanofi Beaute

Gucci Group, one of the world’s best-known fashion companies, said it had agreed to buy Sanofi Beaute from businessman Francois Pinault for $697 million to gain the Yves Saint Laurent brand and become the No. 3 luxury-goods maker. Gucci also will pay $70 million to designer Yves Saint Laurent and to Pierre Berge, who headed Sanofi Beaute, and will assume about $267 million in debt. The transaction brings with it several perfume brands, including Fendi, Van Cleef & Arpels and Krizia. It places Gucci behind only LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world leader, and Vendome, a unit of Cie. Financiere Richemont, as the luxury-goods industry consolidates. Separately, Gucci said sales for its third quarter ended Oct. 31 rose to a record $302 million from $253 million a year earlier. The company, which did not provide further details, will release third-quarter figures in the first half of December.