Estée Lauder Acquires Aveda

Estée Lauder Cos. (EL) has entered the $25 billion global hair-care market with its purchase of Aveda Corp. of Minneapolis for $300 million in cash. About 85% of Aveda’s sales come from hair salons, where it is a top-10 brand. Estée Lauder is said to control 44% of the estimated $5 billion department-store cosmetics market in the U.S. Aveda founder Horst Rechelbacher will remain with the company as chairman.