L'Oreal hires advisers to explore sale of U.S. talc liability portfolio

L'Oreal has engaged restructuring counsel Weil Gotshal & Manges and investment bank Ducera Partners to examine options for its expanding U.S. legal exposure tied to talc and other chemical ingredients. The firm disclosed that about 760 proceedings alleging asbestos in talc-containing cosmetics were pending as of June 30, an increase from roughly 620 at the end of 2025, and it strongly disputes the allegations. Advisors are assessing the formation of a separate corporate vehicle that could be sold to an external investor, mirroring Honeywell’s recent sale of asbestos liabilities to Delticus.

This approach would allow L'Oreal to segregate the liabilities from its operating businesses without resorting to Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The broader context includes costly talc litigation against Johnson & Johnson and similar liability-management moves by Avon Products, while Arizona has sued L'Oreal over alleged cancer-causing hair relaxers. L'Oreal maintains confidence in the safety of its products.