L'Oréal

M&A Activity • Apr 21, 2010

L'Oréal USA signs agreement to acquire Essie Cosmetics

L'Oréal USA today announced the signature of an agreement to acquire Essie Cosmetics, the ultimate nail color authority in the US, founded in 1981 by Essie Weingarten, and mainly sold in American salons and spas.

Essie's net sales through the last 12-month period were \$28 million.

This acquisition will enable L'Oréal to increase its share in the nail color and care market which has seen significant growth year over year.

The acquisition is expected to be completed within 60 to 90 days, subject to customary US and international regulatory approvals.

"This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy L'Oréal shares. If you wish to obtain more comprehensive information about L'Oréal, please refer to the public documents registered in France with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, also available in English on our Internet site www.loreal-finance.com.

This news release may contain some forward-looking statements. Although the Company considers that these statements are based on reasonable hypotheses at the date of publication of this release, they are by their nature subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated or projected in these statements."

Contacts at L'Oréal (switchboard: +33 1 47 56 70 00)

Individual shareholders and market authorities	Financial analysts and Institutional investors	Journalists
Mr Jean Régis CAROF	Mrs Caroline MILLOT	Mrs Stephanie CARSON-PARKER
Tel: +33 1 47 56 83 02	Tel: +33 1 47 56 86 82	Tel: +33 1 47 56 76 71
jcarof@dgaf.loreal.com	cmillot@dgaf.loreal.com	scarsonparker@dgc.loreal.com

For more information, please contact your bank, broker or financial institution (I.S.I.N. code: FR0000120321), and consult your usual newspapers, and the Internet site for shareholders and investors, http://www.loreal-finance.com, or its mobile version on your cell phone, http://loreal-finance.mobi; alternatively, call +33 1 40 14 80 50.