China’s Fosun has become the latest Chinese group to gatecrash the 800m auction¹ to buy The Body Shop, the struggling British skincare retailer², which has been put up for sale by French cosmetics³ group L’Oréal.

中国复星(Fosun)成为最新一家主动参与竞购The Body Shop的中资集团。法国化妆品集团欧莱雅(L’Oréal)计划以8亿欧元出售这家陷入困境的英国护肤品零售商。

According to two people close to the process, Fosun submitted an offer before a Monday deadline for second round bids. The move marks a high-profile return to bidding for European assets for Fosun, which was one of China’s most acquisitive groups before a domestic clampdown threw a spanner into its dealmaking attempts.

据两名知情人透露，复星在周一第二轮投标的最后期限前提交了报价。此举标志着复星高调恢复投资欧洲资产；在被国内监管行动阻挡交易尝试之前，复星是中国最具收购意识的集团之一。

It comes as Investindustrial, a European private equity⁴ firm, has invited the investment vehicle of Alibaba’s founder⁵ Jack⁶ Ma to join its consortium bid and as China’s Renhe Pharmacy⁷ Co has also considered entering the process.

此前欧洲私募股权公司Investindustrial已邀请阿里巴巴(Alibaba)创始人马云(Jack Ma)的投资工具加入其联合投标，中国仁和药业(Renhe Pharmacy Co)也在考虑加入这一进程。

CVC, one of Europe’s private equity largest firms, also submitted a bid and is seen as a strong contender given its experience in carving⁸ out units out of large conglomerates⁹ and the fact that it is working with Emmanuel Osti, the former boss of L’Occitane, another fragrance¹⁰ and body product retailer.

欧洲最大的私人股本公司之一CVC也提交了收购要约，并被视为一家强有力的竞争者，因为其在剥离大型企业集团的业务部门方面经验丰富，也因为该公司正与另一家香水和护肤品零售商欧舒丹(L'Occitane)的前老板Emmanuel Osti合作。

CVC tried to pre-empt the auction process, which L’Oréal formally announced in February, with a 650m offer that was declined, two people briefed on the process previously¹¹ told the FT.

两名此前听取过竞标进程简报的人士向英国《金融时报》表示，CVC曾试图在欧莱雅今年2月正式宣布拍卖前先发制人，提出6.5亿欧元的报价，但遭到拒绝。

Another private equity group Advent¹² had expressed interest but dropped out of the race after realising the challenges of bringing an “old and tired” brand back to its former glory, a person familiar with the decision said.

一名知情人士表示，另一家私人股本集团Advent也曾表示感兴趣，但在意识到让一个“老旧”品牌恢复昔日辉煌要面临的诸多挑战后，退出了竞标。

Brazilian cosmetics firm Natura has also been linked to bids.

巴西化妆品公司Natura据称也参与了竞标。