Unilever, L'Oreal among firms looking to buy makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury

Unilever Plc , L'Oreal SA and Estee Lauder Companies Inc are among firms vying to buy British makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Ltd, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The London-based brand, founded by makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury, is working with advisers at Goldman Sachs Group and Jefferies Financial Group, and could fetch more than 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion), Bloomberg said, citing sources.

Puig, the firm behind Penhaligon's and Paco Rabanne perfumes brands, Japanese cosmetics-maker Shiseido Co Ltd and several private equity firms have also shown interest in Charlotte Tilbury, according to the report.

Charlotte Tilbury could choose a winning bidder as early as May, Bloomberg said, cautioning that no final decisions have yet been made and the talks may not materialise into a deal.

L'Oreal and Unilever declined a Reuters request for comment, while Charlotte Tilbury, Puig, Estee Lauder and Shiseido were not immediately available to respond.

The world's biggest beauty product companies, including Unilever and L'oreal, have been snapping up niche and premium brands over the past few years to attract millennials largely influenced by social media trends.

Unilever paid a reported $500 million for San-Francisco skincare brand Tatcha and also added French brand Garancia to its lineup last year.

L'Oreal too has been on an acquisition spree, buying brands such as IT Cosmetics and skincare brands CeraVe and La-Roche Posay over the past few years.