Gucci Antes Up for Yves Saint Laurent

Continuing the trend of consolidation in the luxury goods industry, Gucci (GUC Quote) announced Monday its proposed acquisition of Sanofi Beaute, which owns the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house and other famous brands.

Gucci shares were up 2 1/4, or 3%, to 80 15/16 at midafternoon. (Gucci closed up 2 11/16 to 81 3/8.)

Gucci will pay about 4.44 billion French francs, or $704.5 million, to Artemis, the holding company of French businessman Francois Pinault, for Sanofi's equity. Also, Gucci will assume about 1.7 billion francs of Sanofi's debt, putting the total cost of the transaction at almost $1 billion. The deal is expected to close in mid-December. ...