L’Oreal shares climb on talk that Nestle stake is in play

Shares in beauty group L’Oreal surged the most in seven years on speculation that the death of the founding family’s matriarch, Liliane Bettencourt, could clear up the cosmetics maker’s ownership through a takeover or a buyback.

Ms Bettencourt’s death raises questions about the stake Nestle has held in the French company for more than four decades.

Her passing makes it more likely that the Swiss food giant will someday sell that 23%, worth about €23.5bn, to L’Oreal, according to analysts. Another possibility is that L’Oreal attracts a takeover bid.