Puig's stock experienced a sharp uptick on Tuesday, jumping over 14% and hitting its strongest levels since early February after Estée Lauder publicly confirmed that the two groups were engaged in merger talks. Despite the surge, Puig's share price remains more than 30% below its May 2024 IPO price.
Estée Lauder reported that its shares closed at $79.29 on March 23, a decline of $6.63, or 7.72%, on trading that the company described as unusual in volume. In pre-market trading the next day, the stock showed a modest rebound, rising 0.8% at 04:57 ET (08:57 GMT).
For Puig, the market response extended across two sessions. The company closed at €17.76 on March 24, continuing a 3.59% advance recorded on March 23, the date Estée Lauder issued its statement about the discussions. Trading volume for Puig on March 23 reached 1.54 million shares, which was more than double the 1.30 million shares traded in the prior session on March 20.
"Unless and until an agreement is signed between the companies, there can be no assurances regarding the deal or its terms," Estée Lauder said in the statement.
The market movements for both companies followed the confirmation that talks were underway, with Puig rallying on the potential strategic outcome and Estée Lauder seeing a sharp single-day drop on heightened activity. Puig's gains on March 23 and 24 coincided with volume that outpaced the immediately preceding trading session, while Estée Lauder's March 23 close reflected a sizable intraday loss.
Investors reacted across equities trading venues, with Puig's rise and Estée Lauder's decline occurring against a backdrop of active share turnover. The public statement from Estée Lauder underscored that discussions were ongoing but stopped short of any guarantees, noting that until a formal agreement is signed there can be no assurances about a deal or its specifics.
These developments left Puig's shares elevated relative to recent months but still substantially below the company's IPO level from May 2024. Estée Lauder's stock showed a partial bounce in pre-market trading following the March 23 close but had recorded a notable single-session decline on that date.
Note: All price levels, percentage moves, dates, times and volume figures cited above are reported as disclosed in the companies' statements and trading records referenced in the public announcements.