P&G sells 43 of its beauty brands to Coty for $12.5 billion

The mega deal will see control of brands including Max Factor and Wella move from Proctor and Gamble to Coty

The complex merger deal - known in economic terms as a Reverse Morris Trust structure - will result in the brands in question being separated from P&G and merged with a subsidiary of Coty. Consequently P&G stakeholders will still own a majority stake in the newly created company.

The beauty brands sold by P&G will feel very at home under the control of Coty whose current portfolio includes Calvin Klein and Balenciaga fragrances and high street makeup giant, Rimmel London. Pipping both Henkel and Revlon to the post in winning the bid, the latest acquisition for Coty establishes them as one of the top beauty players globally.

The new company - chaired by the interim CEO of Coty, Bart Becht - is expected to generate annual revenues of US$10bn.