The private equity investor Aurelius Group is in talks to buy the beauty products chain The Body Shop, which has been put up for sale by its Brazilian owner, Natura & Co, a source familiar with the talks has told Reuters.

If completed, the deal is expected to value The Body Shop at a lower price than the £400m-£500m suggested in some media reports, the source said.

The Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura said in August that its board of directors had authorised the company to search for “strategic alternatives” for its subsidiary, including a potential sale of the business. Natura bought the Body Shop from L’Oréal in 2017.

Natura and Aurelius declined to comment and The Body Shop did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

By Akanksha Khushi

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Brazil’s Natura Mulls Sale of The Body Shop

The move comes after the company sold its luxury cosmetics brand Aesop to L’Oréal at a value of $2.53 billion.