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Body Shop talks collapse
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June 26, 2001: 1:43 p.m. ET
Takeover talks with Mexican vitamin firm end; Body Shop says it isn't selling
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Body Shop International PLC confirmed Tuesday that takeover talks with Omnilife de Mexico SA have collapsed.
Discussions with Omnilife were at a very early stage and no formal process or proposals were initiated, The Body Shop said. The news caused shares of the retailer to drop nearly 19 percent on the London Stock Exchange.
Body Shop (BOS) announced earlier this month that it was in talks with a third party, and press reports had pegged the purchase price at $423 million.
But the collapse of the Omnilife negotiations does not mean the personal care products retailer is on the block, a spokesman told CNNfn.com.
"Body Shop is not selling," a spokesman said. "We were approached. We had a financial and moral duty to look at [the offer] and now it's back to business as usual."
Entrepreneur Anita Roddick founded U.K.-based Body Shop in 1976, and the company rose to fame in the 1980s by offering hair- and skin-care products, such as its Tea Tree Oil Face Mask and Rice Bran Scrub, that appeal to ecologically and environmentally conscious clientele because they use natural ingredients and are not tested on animals. The firm grew from one store in Brighton, England, to its current 1,500 outlets in 47 countries.
However, Body Shop has been hit by competition and has lost market share to rivals such as Columbus, Ohio-based Intimate Brands Inc. (IB: Research, Estimates), a retailer whose products include the Bath & Body Works brand.
Mexico-based Omnilife, a vitamin provider, could not be reached for comment. 
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Body Shop
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