Skincare deal gives facelift to L'Oreal in US

French cosmetics giant L'Oreal said Tuesday it had agreed to buy three leading skincare brands from Valeant for $1.3 billion to give its US offering a facelift.

The cash deal will see L'Oreal acquiring the CeraVe, AcneFree and Ambi brands from the Quebec-based pharmaceutical firm in a purchase it said would nearly double the US sales of its active cosmetics division. "The acquisition of CeraVe, AcneFree and Ambi strongly complement L'Oreal's brand portfolio," said Frederic Roze, president and CEO of L'Oreal USA.