...Coty to Buy P&G's Beauty Assets: In line with its strategy to exit 90-100 brands, Procter & Gamble Inc. (P&G) agreed in early July 2015 to sell a block of its beauty brands to US-based Coty for USD12.5bn. We expect the transaction to close by mid-2016. The block of assets includes strong brands in several beauty product categories that could have benefited many players in the sector. New Player Ratings Neutral: Fitch Ratings believes that the creation of the new major beauty player Coty in mid-2016 is unlikely to materially affect the overall competitive profile of the current major EMEA-based beauty players ¡ L'Oreal SA (short-term IDR of F1+), Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (A/Stable), and Unilever PLC/NV (A+/Stable). It is also unlikely to trigger further transformational M&A in the sector or to affect the ratings of those issuers. New Large Beauty Player: The transaction when finalised will allow Coty to emerge as a stronger beauty player thanks to increased scale and an improved profit margin....
