L’Oréal, the world’s largest beauty company, announced that it has acquired, through its subsidiary L’Oréal USA, PureOlogy Research LLC, a luxury American brand sold through hairdressers in the professional haircare market.

Based in Irvine, California, the company was founded by the American hairdresser Jim Markham. PureOlogy is a luxury brand of high performance haircare products uniquely developed for hair colorists to use and recommend to their clients. The brand is notable for its range of highly concentrated sulfate free shampoos with AntiFade Complex ™.

PureOlogy’s sales in the last 12 months were $57 million. The company is one of the fastest growing haircare brands in the US.
“We are delighted to be acquiring PureOlogy, which enjoys a remarkable reputation with American hairdressers,” said Laurent Attal, President and CEO of L’Oréal USA. “With its very original approach, PureOlogy will allow our Professional Products Division to strengthen even further its position in the top end hairdressing salons where the brand has a strong potential.”

Jean-Jacques Lebel, President of L’Oréal Professional Products Division Worldwide, said, “PureOlogy is very complementary to our existing portfolio of strategic brands. It is an enormous success in the U.S., and we are very excited about the business opportunities for developing it around the world.”

“It has been a great adventure to bring to market a truly unique brand that has captured the hearts and minds of many thousands of hairdressers,” said Jim Markham, founder and CEO of PureOlogy. “It is now our privilege to be passing this brand on to the world’s biggest and best beauty company, where we are sure that it will continue to grow and flourish.”

PureOlogy was consolidated as of May 8, 2007. L’Oréal expects that the acquisition of PureOlogy would be EPS neutral in the financial year to December 31, 2007 and EPS accretive thereafter.

PureOlogy will be joining the international brands of L’Oréal Professional Products Division: L’Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Matrix, Redken and Mizani.