_{DEAL OF THE MONTH}

Creed is Good

Perfume isn’t the only thing evaporating at Kering - it’s the luxury group’s entire beauty business. On October 20, Gucci’s parent announced it would sell its beauty unit to L’Oréal for €4 billion.

New CEO Luca de Meo has decided he’d rather smell like cash than Creed, so he’s offloading the famed Creed fragrance house (bought for €3.5 billion in 2023) along with 50‑year exclusive licenses to produce perfumes under Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga. When Coty’s agreement expires, the Gucci license goes, too.

The price tag makes this L’Oréal’s largest acquisition ever, overtaking its $2.5 billion purchase of Aesop in 2023. 

For Kering, whose net debt sits around €9.5 billion and whose flagship Gucci brand reported a 25% revenue drop in the last quarter, the deal is a much‑needed cash infusion.

Evercore and Centerview advised Kering while Bank of America and Rothschild crunched the numbers for L’Oréal.

Analysts call the sale bittersweet - selling the beauty division at roughly what Kering paid for Creed is like returning a bottle half full - but shareholders cheered, sending the stock up nearly 5%.

For L’Oréal, fragrances are growing at double-digit rates. Scooping up Creed and long-term rights to Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta is like adding extra spritzes of Chanel No. 5 to an already crowded vanity, and few rivals can outbid them.

Traditionalists in Paris lament that the Pinault family’s dream of challenging L’Oréal lasted less than two years. Deal junkies ~like us~ celebrated by spritzing Creed Aventus and to test the synergies of the scents.

L’oreal’s shareholders seemed to be sniffing the Kool Aid too, with shares notching a modest 1.2% gain on the announcement.

All in all, it smells like a fresh start for both sides.

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_{NEWS ROUNDUP}

Top Reads

• Meta and Blue Owl ink $30 billion data center partnership

• Brookfield closes $20 billion energy transition fund II

• Ardian buys Energia for $3 billion

• Bain Capital raises $14 billion for its 14th PE fund

• Ares Management raises $5.3 billion for infrastructure secondaries

• Total Energies sells stake in North American solar assets to KKR for $1.25 billion

• Silver hits highest level since the 1980s

• Gold has its worst day in a decade after reaching all time highs

_{EXIT OF THE MONTH}

Hollywood and Broadway Tie Up

Since the Kings beat the Rangers in the Stanley Cup final in 2014, Broadway has been afraid of Hollywood. Now, Hollywood is back to take a piece of Broadway. 

Ari Emanuel’s newly formed investment vehicle MARI announced plans to acquire TodayTix Group (TTG), the go-to digital ticketing platform for Broadway and West End fans.

While the purchase price wasn’t disclosed, whispers suggest the multiple was closer to Hamilton resale tickets than a cheap off-Broadway seat.

If you’re not familiar with TTG, it’s the leading marketplace for everything from operas at the Met to Royal Shakespeare Company productions in London, and was owned by private equity firm Great Hill Partners.

The platform counts more than 20 million members and partners with over 10,000 cultural institutions across 30+ countries, operating brands like LondonTheatre and Show-Score.

MARI already owns the Miami Open tennis tournament, Frieze art fairs and Barrett‑Jackson auto auctions, so adding a theatre‑ticket powerhouse rounds out an eclectic empire that now spans sports, art, cars and Shakespeare.

Co‑founder Brian Fenty will remain CEO and join MARI’s executive team, going from an off-Broadway side show to a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The deal allows for some significant cross-selling for MARI. It isn’t just buying a ticket app; it’s buying an excuse to blast Macbeth discounts at collectors browsing million‑dollar Corvettes.

More importantly, TTG’s data on 20 million theatre lovers gives Emanuel a direct line to a wealthy, culture‑obsessed audience.

For Broadway producers still recovering from the pandemic, having a Hollywood powerhouse push your matinee could boost attendance faster than a Tony Award.

For investors, the move underscores how ticketing platforms have become trophy assets. Months after Live Nation’s antitrust headaches, a new player wants to charge you convenience fees while offering you half‑price opera seats.

Emanuel once said entertainment is about “creating experiences people can’t get anywhere else.”

Buying TTG means you’ll soon be able to pair ‘Cats’ with catwalks. Consider it the ultimate bundle.

_{STRATEGIC DEAL OF THE MONTH}

CMC Cements a New Era

In an area of volatility and tariffs, one of America’s last steelmakers is pouring some cement into its portfolio.

Commercial Metals Company (CMC) announced it would acquire Foley Products, a Georgia‑based precast‑concrete and pipe supplier, for $1.84 billion in cash.

Foley supplies concrete pipes and structures for utility connections, water supply and storm‑water management. With 18 facilities across nine states, it gives CMC a broader footprint in both the Southeast and Western U.S. 

As every banker will tell you, the deal is expected to be accretive to earnings and cash flow. This time, it is not just through headcount reductions, there are actual synergies as CMC can expand its product offerings across job sites and leverage some vertical and horizontal integration to improve margins.

In a building‑products industry where companies are scrambling for scale and local supply chains, CMC is mixing steel and concrete to lock in demand. Recent transactions underscore the trend: TopBuild spent $1 billion on SPI and a Home Depot unit paid $4.3 billion for GMS.

The deal is being struck at 10.7x, which is definitely steep…

…and CMC’s shareholders let them know it with shares falling 7% on the day of announcement.

Controlling both rebar and pipe means they can sell you the steel skeleton and the concrete skin of your next bridge or water project. It’s the industrial equivalent of selling both buns and burgers (can you tell I wrote this during dinner?).

With infrastructure spending rising, that’s a recipe for sticky margins. Bankers are already working on “cementing this relationship” into every pitch and may even bring a giant golden shovel to the closing dinner.