(Bloomberg) — La Maison Pierre Herme, whose chef was once called the “Picasso of pastry” by Vogue magazine, is getting a new owner.
Investment firm Butler Industries bought an 85% stake in the high-end patisserie brand from a fund affiliated with the cosmetics company L’Occitane Group. Terms were not disclosed, but the fund makes investments of as much as 150 million euros ($170 million), according to founder Walter Butler.
La Maison Pierre Herme was founded in 1997 by Herme and Charles Znaty. In 2015, LOG Investment, the L’Occitane fund, bought a minority stake, with the founders initially remaining majority shareholders.
Herme is known for his macaron pastries made of a colored crisp shell of almond wrapping flavored cream or chocolate ganache. They gained popularity in Japan in the 1990s and Herme opened its first store there in 1998 before starting one in Paris three years later. The chef once created a dessert menu for First Class passengers of Japan’s All Nippon Airways.
The purchase by Butler will allow La Maison Pierre Herme to accelerate its international development, boost its network of own stores and continue its digital strategy, according to a statement from CFI France Athema, which advised LOG on the sale.
La Maison Pierre Herme generates around 100 million euros in annual sales from a network of around 60 selling points, including its own shops, corners in department stores as well as hotels. The business is profitable, Butler said.
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