Estée Lauder in a deal announced on Tuesday said it was acquiring its longtime partner, Tom Ford.
The agreement values the American fashion and beauty label at $2.8 billion and will be paid through a combination of cash, debt, and deferred payments that will be due in 2025.
The two of the world’s top luxury icons have been partners for more than 15 years, launching the Tom Ford Beauty brand together in 2006.
The released statement clarified that Tom Ford, the founder and CEO will stay on the brand’s creative visionary after closing and through the end of 2023.
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The two companies said that the deal would enable two of Tom Ford’s partners, Ermenegildo Zegna and Marcolin, to extend their existing licensing agreements.
Domenico De Sole, the brand’s chairman who had previously helmed Gucci, will also remain a consultant during the same period.
Estée Lauder Companies, said Tuesday that it expected annual sales of Tom Ford’s cosmetics line to reach $1 billion “over the next couple of years.”
“As an owned brand, this strategic acquisition will unlock new opportunities and fortify our growth plans for Tom Ford Beauty,” Estée Lauder Companies President and CEO Fabrizio Freda said in a statement.
“They have been an extraordinary partner from the first day of my creation of the company and I am thrilled to see them become the luxury stewards in this next chapter,” Ford said in the same statement.
Estée Lauder Companies is home to other global beauty brands such as Clinique and Bobbi Brown.