L’Oreal buying Aesop
L’Oreal has past form here. It bought Body Shop in 2006 from the main founder, Anita Roddick (taking it private), ran it for about a decade, and then sold it to a niche competitor (focusing on organic), Natura of Brazil (who owns other cosmetic brands such as Avon)
Since then Body Shop has achieved a B corp certification (with a just passing score, less than even the controversial score that Nespresso achieved; putting a positive spin on this, it is a journey of continuous improvement which hopefully Natura, who has a much higher score, is fostering).
In a final twist, L’Oreal is buying Aesop from Natura.
Go figure.