By Lauren Thomas
Charlotte Tilbury, the celebrity makeup artist and cosmetics entrepreneur, is famous for her Magic Cream, Pillow Talk lipsticks and Golden Goddess eye shadow. Now she has left her mark on Wall Street.
The British beauty queen has played a key role in derailing a multibillion-dollar deal that sought to add her eponymous brand and others to the Estée Lauder empire, according to people familiar with the matter.
Estée Lauder shares jumped 10% in early U.S. trading, while its merger partner, Spanish beauty company Puig Brands, fell more than 14% in European trading after the two companies said they had called off their discussions.
The companies in March had acknowledged the merger talks, which were reported by The Wall Street Journal. Shares of Estée Lauder had slumped on the deal discussions, which surprised investors and came after a profit warning.
Tilbury inserted herself into the deal negotiations as discussions progressed and made financial demands that became increasingly complex and unreasonable, the people said.
Tilbury couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
The businesswoman sold a controlling stake in her brand to Puig for more than $1 billion in 2020. Tilbury maintained a minority stake and Puig has said it was aiming to take total control in the coming years .
Tilbury sought a renegotiation of her buyout, and it became an issue for both Estée Lauder and Puig, the people said, because Tilbury's demands would have materially affected the transaction's economics.
Born in London, Tilbury has been a fixture in fashion and Hollywood circles for decades. She worked on Vogue covers and red-carpet looks for stars such as Kate Moss and Salma Hayek. In 2013, she started her own line of skin care and makeup that became bestsellers.
It isn't the first time that Tilbury and Estée Lauder have disagreed over the value of her business. In 2019, WWD reported that she was in talks to sell but the U.S. giant wasn't willing to meet a sale price of $1.4 billion. Tilbury and Estée Lauder declined to comment at the time.
Write to Lauren Thomas at lauren.thomas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 22, 2026 10:04 ET (14:04 GMT)
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