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Paris and Clichy, France. October 19, 2025 – Kering and L’Oréal announced today that they are entering a long-term strategic partnership in luxury beauty and wellness. This binding agreement encompasses the acquisition of the House of Creed by L’Oréal, the beauty and fragrance licenses of iconic Houses of Kering and an exclusive venture to explore business opportunities in the field of wellness and longevity.  

 

Building on the success of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, this alliance further consolidates the long history of collaboration of two global leaders with complementary strengths — iconic luxury brands of Kering and the world-class expertise of L’Oréal in beauty — to accelerate growth and unlock considerable value across high-potential categories.

 

Under the terms of this agreement, Kering has the right to sell Kering Beauté including the House of Creed to L’Oréal. A true heritage name in haute parfumerie, Creed stands among the leading high-end luxury fragrance Houses, celebrated for its craftsmanship and mastery of rare natural ingredients. As part of L’Oréal Luxe, Creed will be best positioned to accelerate even further its global development across both men’s and women’s markets.

 

The partnership includes the rights to enter into a 50-year exclusive license for the creation, development, and distribution of fragrance and beauty products for Gucci, commencing after expiration of the current license with Coty, and respecting the Kering group’s obligations as per the existing license agreement. 

Kering will also grant L’Oréal 50-year exclusive licenses for the creation, development, and distribution of fragrance and beauty products for Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, starting upon closing of the announced transaction.

 

A strategic committee will be established to ensure coordination between Kering brands and L’Oréal and monitor the progress of our partnership.

 

The agreement, including the sale of Creed and the establishment of these 50-year licenses on these iconic Houses of Kering, is valued at €4 billion, payable in cash at closing, expected in the first half of 2026. L’Oréal will also pay royalties to Kering for the use of its licensed brands.

 

Beyond beauty, Kering and L’Oréal are joining forces to explore business opportunities at the intersection of luxury, wellness, and longevity. This exclusive partnership, in the form of a planned 50/50 joint venture, will craft cutting-edge experiences and services combining L’Oréal’s innovation capabilities with Kering’s deep understanding of luxury clients.

 

“This strategic alliance marks a decisive step for Kering,” declared Luca de Meo, CEO of Kering. “Joining forces with the global leader in beauty, we will accelerate the development of fragrance and cosmetics for our major Houses, allowing them to achieve scale in this category and unlock their immense long-term potential, as did Yves Saint Laurent Beauté under L’Oréal’s stewardship. Together, we will also venture into new frontiers of wellness, combining the unrivalled expertise of L’Oréal with our unique luxury reach. This partnership allows us to focus on what defines us best: the creative power and desirability of our Houses.”

 

“I am delighted to forge this long-term strategic alliance with one of the world’s most prestigious, creative and visionary luxury groups. This partnership will further solidify our position as the world’s #1 luxury beauty company and allow us to explore new avenues in wellness together.” said Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO L’Oréal Groupe. “The addition of these extraordinary brands perfectly complements our existing portfolio and significantly expands our reach into new, dynamic segments of luxury beauty. Through Creed, we will establish ourselves as one of the leading players in the fast-growing niche fragrance market. Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga are all exceptional couture brands with enormous potential for growth.”

 

The agreement contains customary terms and conditions, including regulatory approvals. The agreement is also subject to Kering’s obligations under French employment law, with the right for Kering to sell Kering Beauté to L’Oréal and an exclusivity granted to L’Oréal.

 

About Kering

 

Kering is a global, family-led luxury group, home to people whose passion and expertise nurture creative Houses across couture and ready-to-wear, leather goods, jewelry, eyewear and beauty: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin, Ginori 1735, as well as Kering Eyewear and Kering Beauté. Inspired by their creative heritage, Kering’s Houses design and craft exceptional products and experiences that reflect the Group’s commitment to excellence, sustainability and culture. This vision is expressed in our signature: Creativity is our Legacy. In 2024, Kering employed 47,000 people and generated revenue of €17.2 billion.

 

About L’Oréal Groupe

 

For 115 years, L’Oréal, the world’s leading beauty player, has devoted itself to one thing only: fulfilling the beauty aspirations of consumers around the world. Our purpose, to create the beauty that moves the world, defines our approach to beauty as essential, inclusive, ethical, generous and committed to social and environmental sustainability. With our broad portfolio of 37 international brands and ambitious sustainability commitments in our L’Oréal for the Future programme, we offer each and every person around the world the best in terms of quality, efficacy, safety, sincerity and responsibility, while celebrating beauty in its infinite plurality.

With more than 90,000 committed employees, a balanced geographical footprint and sales across all distribution networks (e-commerce, mass market, department stores, pharmacies, perfumeries, hair salons, branded and travel retail), in 2023 the Group generated sales amounting to 41.18 billion euros. With 20 research centers across 11 countries around the world and a dedicated Research and Innovation team of over 4,000 scientists and 6,400 Digital talents, L’Oréal is focused on inventing the future of beauty and becoming a Beauty Tech powerhouse. 

 

 

Contacts Kering

Press

Emilie Gargatte       +33 (0)1 45 64 61 20       emilie.gargatte@kering.com 
Caroline Bruel       +33 (0)1 45 64 62 53       caroline.bruel-ext@kering.com  
    
Analysts/investors

Claire Roblet       +33 (0)1 45 64 61 49       claire.roblet@kering.com  
Aurélie Husson-Dumoutier        +33 (0)1 45 64 60 45       aurelie.husson-dumoutier@kering.com

 

 

Contacts L’Oréal

Individual shareholders

Pascale Guérin      +33 (0)1 49 64 18 89       pascale.guerin@loreal.com 
 

Financial analysts and institutional investors

Eva Quiroga       +33 (0)7 88 14 22 65       eva.quiroga@loreal.com 
 

Media

Brune Diricq       +33 (0)6 63 85 29 87       brune.diricq@loreal.com  
Arnaud Fraboul       +33 (0)6 40 13 62 14       arnaud.fraboul@loreal.com  

 

 

Patients treated with izalontamab brengitecan (iza-bren; BL-B01D1) had superior overall response rate (ORR) compared with chemotherapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), according to results from the BL-B01D1-301 study (NCT06118333) presented at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress and published in The Lancet.^1,2

The ORR by blinded independent central review was 54.6% (95% CI, 45.2%–63.8%) with iza-bren vs 27.0% (95% CI, 19.1%–36.0%) with chemotherapy, with an odds ratio of 3.3 (95% CI, 1.9–5.8; P < .0001) showing it was significantly higher in this primary end point.¹

“This was the first randomized phase 3 study evaluating iza-bren in recurrent or metastatic NPC. Our study has met its primary end point for ORR, and we can see a clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival [PFS] and it has a management safety profile,” said Huaqiang Zhou, MD, of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in Guangzhou, China, in his presentation.¹

Approximately 20% to 30% of patients with NPC have recurrent or distant metastases, and current treatment options have low response rates. Iza-bren is a potentially first-in-class topoisomerase 1 inhibitor-based EGFR and HER3 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).

The multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase 3 BL-B01D1-301 trial was designed to investigate this agent in patients who had previously received at least 2 lines of systemic chemotherapy including at least 1 platinum-containing regimen and a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor. The primary end points were ORR and overall survival (OS), with secondary end points including progression-free survival, duration of response (DOR), and safety.

Patients were enrolled in 55 hospitals in China. They were stratified by number of prior lines of platinum-based treatment, ECOG performance status of 0 vs 1, and presence/absence of liver metastases.

Of 522 patients who were screened, 386 were randomly assigned on a 1:1 basis with 191 receiving 2.5 mg/kg iza-bren on days 1 and 8 of a 3-week cycle with 195 receiving physician’s choice of chemotherapy.¹

The median age of patients was 50.0 in the treatment arm and 49.0 in the chemotherapy arm, with the majority being male in each arm (85.3% and 81.0%, respectively). The majority had ECOG performance status of 1 (75.9% in both arms). Over half of patients in both arms had received 2 prior lines of therapy with the rest having received at least 3 lines. The majority had received 2 prior lines of chemotherapy, with 48.2% of each arm having received 2 prior lines of platinum-based chemotherapy. Prior radiotherapy had been used in 89.5% of the experimental arm and 88.2% of the control arm.

Metastases were present at baseline in the liver, bones, and lungs in 47.6%, 49.2%, and 46.6% of the experimental arm and 48.7%, 46.7%, and 37.4% of the control arm.

Results were reported at median follow-up of 7.66 months for iza-bren and 7.10 months for chemotherapy. There was 1 complete response in the iza-bren arm and none in the control arm. The disease control rate was 82.4% with iza-bren vs 69.6% with chemotherapy. All subgroups favored iza-bren in this analysis.

The median DOR was 8.5 months for iza-bren vs 4.8 months for physician’s choice of chemotherapy (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.22–0.83). The median PFS was 8.38 months with iza-bren vs 4.34 months for chemotherapy (HR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.32–0.62), and this trend was consistent across subgroups. At this time, OS was not mature.

Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) of grade 3 or higher were reported in 79.9% of patients receiving iza-bren vs 61.6% of those receiving chemotherapy. Serious TRAEs occurred in 43.4% of patients in the iza-bren arm vs 27.0% in the chemotherapy arm, and 4 (2%) treatment-related deaths occurred in the iza-bren group. Dose reductions due to TRAEs were needed in 41.8% with iza-bren vs 24.3% with chemotherapy, and TRAEs leading to dose interruption occurred in 61.4% vs 18.4%, respectively. TRAEs led to treatment discontinuation in 2.6% vs 3.2%, respectively.

Hematological AEs were reported more frequently with iza-bren vs chemotherapy including anemia in 50% vs 10% and decreased platelet count in 43% vs 7%. Decreased white blood cell count occurred in 43% vs 44% and decreased neutrophil count occurred in 38% vs 41%, respectively. According to Zhou, these were well managed by standard supportive care. The majority of nonhematologic TRAEs were grade 1 or 2, and no new safety signals were identified.

Two cases of grade 2 interstitial lung disease (ILD) occurred in the experimental arm and 2 cases of grade 3 ILD occurred in the chemotherapy arm.

“Based on this trial, iza-bren represents a potential new standard of care for heavily pretreated patients with recurrent or metastatic NPC,” concluded Zhou.

REFERENCES:

1. Yang Y, Zhou H, Tang L, et al. Iza-bren (BL-B01D1), an EGFR×HER3 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate, versus physician’s choice of chemotherapy in heavily pretreated recurrent/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a randomized, open-label, multicenter, phase III, pivotal study (BL-B01D1-303). Presented at: 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress; October 17-21, 2025; Berlin, Germany. Abstract LBA35.

2. Yang Y, Zhou H, Tang L, et al. Izalontamab brengitecan, an EGFR and HER3 bispecific antibody–drug conjugate, versus chemotherapy in heavily pretreated recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 study in China. Lancet. Published online October 19, 2025. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01954-3