PARIS, France (AFP) — French cosmetics group L’Oreal said Tuesday it is interested in taking a stake in Italian company Armani — as its late founder suggested — even as it moves ahead with a multi-billion-dollar purchase of Kering’s beauty division.

“The acquisition of Kering’s beauty activities changes nothing in terms of our intention to be part of Armani,” L’Oreal boss Nicolas Hieronimus told Le Figaro newspaper.

L’Oreal and Kering — the struggling French luxury group that owns Gucci — announced on Sunday that L’Oreal was buying Kering’s beauty division for $4.6 billion, its biggest acquisition ever.

The deal includes Kering’s Creed perfume, and would also see L’Oreal pick up 50-year exclusive licences to distribute products under Kering’s Italian brands Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, once they expire under the current licencee, the United States (US) company Coty, in 2028.

Armani’s founder, Giorgio Armani, who died September 4, said in his will he wanted a major luxury group to take a 15-per cent stake in his privately held company, which Forbes magazine values at $5.6 billion.

Armani cited LVMH, EssilorLuxottica or L’Oreal as potential buyers.

Hieronimus said he saw L’Oreal initially taking a 15-per cent stake in Armani.

His cosmetics company was to release its third-quarter results later Tuesday, after the Paris stock market closes.

Analysts consulted by Bloomberg expect it to report a 1.5-per cent increase in turnover, to 10.4 billion euros ($12 billion).

The French group is worth more than $240 billion.

L’Oreal’s CEO said that the partnership with Kering shold send a message to Armani that his group would be a valuable ally in the luxury sector.

Whichever luxury group is permitted to take a stake in Armani would have an opportunity to eventually take control by acquiring between 30 and 54.9 per cent of its capital.

If such a scenario does not happen within the next three to five years, Giorgio Armani called in his will for the Armani company to be floated on the stock market.

Hieronimus said that “we could make this (initial) investment in Armani alone, or with a partner”.

“My desire is to see Armani fashion develop and for its style to transform under the guidance of its new managing director, Giuseppe Marsocci, whom I know well,” he said.