Cosmetics firm Clarins dampens takeover talk

PARIS (Reuters) - Clarins CLRP.PA, a target of takeover speculation, said the Courtin-Clarins family has no plans to give up control, sending shares in the French luxury skin care group down nearly 4 percent.

Clarins said however it had been in discussions with others in the industry about its external growth strategy, but had nothing new to report.

"In view of persisting rumors surrounding Clarins stock, we want to say once again that the Courtin-Clarins family, a majority shareholder, does not plan to give up control of the group," the statement said.

The Courtin-Clarins family owns about 65 percent of the capital of Clarins and more than 78 percent of its voting rights.

"That said, contact has been made with several players in the cosmetics industry in the context of external growth policy that Clarins has not made secret. To date there is no element (of this) that should be made public," it added.

Clarins made the statement after French stock market watchdog AMF asked the group to respond to repeated takeover speculation, a company spokeswoman told Reuters.

There have been several reports in the French press about an imminent tie-up between Clarins and retailer PPR (PRTP.PA).

Last week Clarins chief Executive Christian Courtin-Clarins tried to cool takeover speculation, telling French daily Le Figaro that his group viewed itself more as a predator than prey. He said Clarins could mobilize around 800 million euros ($1.2 billion).

By 5:17 a.m. EST, Clarins shares were off 2.2 percent at 57.62 euros, having touched 56.70, while PPR shares were off 1.2 percent at 109.31 euros.