Clayton Dubilier to Buy Jafra Cosmetics

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc. said it agreed to buy Gillette Co.’s Jafra Cosmetics International for an undisclosed sum. People familiar with the transaction said Clayton Dubilier, a leveraged-buyout firm based in New York, paid about $200 million for the company. Jafra sells cosmetics in the U.S., Germany, Mexico and 17 other countries through a direct-marketing sales force of about 215,000. The Westlake-based company had sales of about $200 million in 1997. “The real interest for us is to build this business in countries where it doesn’t participate, and we think that direct-sales opportunities are enormous in India, China and the former Soviet Union,” said Clayton Dubilier President Donald J. Gogel. Boston-based Gillette said the unit doesn’t fit with its “long-term corporate strategy and retail-focused distribution approach.” Gillette shares fell $2.25 to close at $100 in New York Stock Exchange trading.