Coty to buy OPI for $1 bn: report

Coty Inc, one of the world's largest fragrance companies, is near a deal to buy nail-polish maker OPI Products Inc for about $1 billion, says a media report.

Attributing the news to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported that Coty Inc was close to an agreement to acquire OPI Products Inc for about $1 billion.

A deal could be announced as early as Monday, the report said, adding negotiations could still fall apart.

OPI was founded in 1981 by George Schaeffer, who is the company's president and chief executive. The company that began as a dental-supply business, now sells nail polish and other nail-related products in salons, using fanciful names for its colors like "Overexposed in South Beach" and "I'm Not Really a Waitress".

 

OPI, which is considered a premium brand, held about six per cent of the US nail-polish market last year, the report said, citing Euromonitor.

In 2009, US nail polish sales rose by 11 per cent to $462.9 million, the report added.

New York-based Coty that describes itself as the world's largest fragrance company, makes fragrances for brands including Calvin Klein, Vera Wang and Stetson.