Deals this week: Seppic, L’Oreal, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation

Seppic has purchased Bayer's cosmetics ingredient division Serdex for an undisclosed sum to improve its presence in natural active ingredients for the cosmetics sector and meet customer demands.

Based in France, Seppic expects to benefit from Serdex’s expertise in high-purity extraction and sourcing of exotic plants. Serdex’s knowledge of the Malagasy plant is expected to benefit Seppic, which makes specialty ingredients for health and beauty.

L'Oréal has agreed to purchase skincare brands CeraVe, AcneFree and AMBI from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.

The CeraVe brand comprises a range of products including cleansers, moisturisers, sunscreens, healing ointments, and a separate range of skincare products designed for babies.

The AcneFree branded products include over-the-counter cleansers and acne treatments, while the AMBI brand products include creams, cleansers, and moisturisers.

Proceeds are intended to be used to repay L'Oréal's term loan under senior credit facility.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation and biotech start-up company S-Biomedic have announced a partnership to develop microbiome skincare solutions for a number of conditions such as acne, eczema, rosacea, and aging.

The partnership is part of S-Biomedic's JLINX programme, which intends to identify and help start-ups in businesses similar to Johnson & Johnson.