Natura sells The Body Shop to Aurelius in $254m deal

SAO PAULO, Nov 15 (Reuters): Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura &Co said on Tuesday it has signed a binding agreement to sell subsidiary The Body Shop to private investor Aurelius Group in a deal with an enterprise value of 207 million UK pounds ($254.32 million).

The move represents the second major divestment by Natura this year as part of a broader organizational shakeup, following a deal announced in April to sell luxury brand Aesop to L'Oreal at an enterprise value of $2.53 billion.

Shares of the cosmetics maker jumped as much as 8% in Sao Paulo morning trading on the news before paring some gains, making it one of the top performers on Brazil's benchmark stock index Bovespa, which was up nearly 2%.

Natura said the agreement included a potential earn-out of 90 million pounds, adding that both the sale price and the earn-out would be paid within five years of the transaction closing, which is expected by year-end.