Estee Lauder agrees to buy Tom Ford brand for $2.3 bn

NEW YORK

Luxury beauty brand Estee Lauder has said it agreed to buy designer Tom Ford’s company for $2.3 billion.     

The deal, which values Ford’s business at $2.8 billion, will see the fashion superstar remain in his position as creative director until the end of next year, the statement said.     

Bringing the brand under the “stewardship” of the Estee Lauder Companies (ELC) “will allow for continuity and the further evolution of the Tom Ford brand as one of the preeminent global luxury brands of the twenty-first century,” ELC said in its statement.

The deal includes the Tom Ford Beauty cosmetics and fragrance collection, with which Estee Lauder already has a licensing agreement until 2030.

“This strategic acquisition will unlock new opportunities and fortify our growth plans for Tom Ford Beauty,” head of Estee Lauder Companies Fabrizio Freda said.

The deal also includes licenses for the brand’s men’s and women’s fashion lines, eyewear label and accessories and underwear divisions.“I could not be happier with this acquisition as The Estee Lauder Companies is the ideal home for the brand,” 61-year-old Ford said in the statement.     

Domenico De Sole, chairman of Tom Ford International, will remain at the company as a consultant until Ford leaves at the end of 2023, the ELC statement said. Ford, who first launched his brand in 2005, is the current head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.     

He launched film production company Fade to Black in 2005, and previously worked as creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent in the 1990s and early 2000s.