Aesop reported target in $2bn bidding war between French groups

An Aesop store in downtown Sydney. Aesop is a luxury Australian natural cosmetics skin-care company.
Photograph: EQRoy/Alamy

Aesop, an Australian luxury cosmetics, shampoo and bodycare brand, is said to be at the centre of a $2bn (£1.6bn) bidding war between French multinationals LVMH and L’Oréal.

LVMH, the luxury goods empire controlled the world’s richest person, Bernard Arnault; L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics company; and the Japanese makeup and fragrance brand Shiseido Co are weighing up bids to buy a stake in Aesop, according to Bloomberg.