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Puig moves Charlotte Tilbury's Spanish headquarters to Barcelona. The British brand, the group's makeup engine, leaves Madrid and settles in the corporate headquarters in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. 09 of October of 2026 Puig makes a move with one of its most important brands. According to Crónica Global, the Catalan group has moved the Spanish headquarters of Charlotte Tilbury, which until now operated from Madrid, to Barcelona. The new office is located at Puig's corporate headquarters in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, chaired by Marc Puig. The move brings the group closer to the brand that has most boosted its makeup and skincare business. Puig bought a majority stake in 2020, and the founder maintained a minority position. It was then announced that the brand, founded in 2013, was partnering with Puig, the Barcelona-based family company. Puig prevailed over competitors such as Unilever, L'Oréal, and Estée Lauder. A brand with weight in the group's accounts. Charlotte Tilbury is primarily responsible for the growth and pull of makeup at Puig. In 2025, revenues in this category grew by 10.8%, and operating profit rose by more than 118% compared to 2024. The group attributes these figures to the brand's performance, which launched numerous innovations, entered Mexico, and debuted distribution on Amazon in the United States. The Tilbury factor in the breakup with Estée Lauder. The move comes after the failed merger with Estée Lauder. Crónica Global explains that the purchase agreement included an option on the remaining capital and change of control clauses. In the event of a merger, the founder could demand that Puig execute the purchase of her share, a cost that the American company did not want to assume. Other media place the founder of the makeup brand at the center of the breakup. According to the French news agency, Reuters, the last stumbling block was Tilbury's demands regarding the conditions of her minority stake. Bloomberg added that one of the points of friction was the founder's change of control clause. Even so, the makeup brand was not the only obstacle. Reuters also points to the rejection by Estée Lauder investors and doubts about how to structure assets such as Charlotte Tilbury and Isdin, which Puig does not control 100% (now, in the case of Isdin, it does). For his part, Estée Lauder CEO, Stéphane de La Faverie, attributed the failure to the price. Puig strengthens its position. Despite the merger ultimately not coming to fruition, the group has increased its stake in the brand. El Economista recently explained that Puig would have disbursed more than 350 million euros to raise its stake to 85%, buying shares from the founder herself and former CEO Demetra Pinsent. It would acquire the remaining 15% in 2031.

The 10th Digital Cinema Media Awards. 2026 winners announced The 10th annual Digital Cinema Media Awards, held in partnership with Campaign, took place last night (Thursday 8 October) at BAFTA's glamorous premises in Piccadilly to celebrate a decade of cinema advertising. 9 Oct 2026 OMD UK and McDonald's "Friend's Festival" campaign was crowned the standout winner on the night, taking home Best Use of Cinema (Large) and the overall Grand Prix. In a media first, McDonald's, OMD UK and DCM united Odeon, Cineworld and Vue for an unprecedented takeover of Leicester Square. Fans watched iconic episodes of Friends on the big screen, explored recreated sets, enjoyed exclusive experiences and shared the new McDonald's Friends Meal together. To celebrate 10 years of the Awards, a public vote decided the Cinema Campaign of the Decade. Each prior Grand Prix winner was eligible to win, and it was Kia UK, Havas Media Network and Havas PLAY's partnership with independent cinema that achieved the historic winning vote. Kia UK's continued support of independent cinema also earned them the Best Long-Term use of Cinema award on the night. Judges praised its distinctive use of the medium, and the campaign's continued evolution across multiple years. Karen Stacey, CEO of Digital Cinema Media commented, "When Digital Cinema Media Limited created the Digital Cinema Media Awards ten years ago, I never could have imagined just how impactful it would become. 500 hundred entries, 9 Grand Prix winners and 100 bespoke copies later, and the big screen is stronger than ever. What a difference a decade can make! "It's a strength reflected in 2026's incredible entries. We saw more creativity, more data, and more proof of ROI than any other year, a testament to cinema's power as a medium." Famille Perrin and Be Addressable won the Best Use of Cinema (Small) category, proving a highly focused budget, paired with the cultural power of cinema, can deliver outsized commercial impact. For the Best Creative Use of Cinema, Unilever and Mindshare's unique 4DX campaign for Lynx took the top spot. The campaign sprayed a bespoke cherry scent to cinema audiences in-screen. A unique media first. In the same category, Unilever and Mindshare's Pot Noodle campaign with Dead Good Films was highly commended by judges. New to the DCM Awards, the Excellence in Cinema Effectiveness category was launched to recognise insight-led strategy and effectiveness in cinema. Confused.com and Zenith Media became the very first winners of this category, building on their 'Just Used Confused' campaign with excellent insight-led planning and disciplined measurement. The individual Cinema Champion was awarded to Louis Monckton at Havas Media for his expert stewardship of Kia UK's independent cinema partnership. And Spark Foundry's Cinema Co-ord Team took home the team Cinema Champion prize for its effective, cinema-first initiatives. Full list of 2026 winners. Best use of Cinema (Small) WINNER: Famille Perrin and Be Addressable - Precision on the Big Screen: How a Small Cinema Budget Delivers Great Results Best use of Cinema (Large) WINNER: McDonald's and OMD UK - The ONE Where McDonald's Brought Friends to the Big Screen Best Creative use of Cinema WINNER: Unilever and Mindshare - Lynx Cherry Spritz 4DX HIGHLY COMMENDED: Unilever and Mindshare - Pot Noodle's partnership with Dead Good Films Excellence in Cinema Effectiveness WINNER: Confused.com and Zenith Media - From Zero to Hero: Transforming Cinema into Confused's Highest ROI ATL Channel Best Long-Term use of Cinema WINNER: Kia UK and Havas Media - Five Years of Championing Independent Cinema Cinema Champion of the Year WINNER: Louis Monckton, Havas Media WINNER: Spark Cinema Co-ord Team - Spark Foundry Grand Prix WINNER: McDonald's and OMD UK - The ONE Where McDonald's Brought Friends to the Big Screen Cinema Campaign of the Decade Kia UK, Havas Media Network, Havas PLAY - Driving to the Electric Future with Independent Cinema

McCormick-Unilever deal clears US antitrust hurdle as UK review deadline looms. 08-Oct-2026 Last updated on 08-Oct-2026 at 18:52 GMT McCormick's proposed combination with Unilever's food business has cleared an important US antitrust hurdle, but the deal remains under review in the UK. Source: Getty/Image Source (Getty Images/Image Source) The FTC granted early termination of its US antitrust waiting period, while the UK's CMA continues its Phase 1 review and Sen. Elizabeth Warren calls for closer scrutiny of major food-industry mergers. McCormick's proposed $44.8 billion acquisition of Unilever's food business cleared a major regulatory hurdle in the US this week, but the deal is not yet in the clear, with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority still reviewing the transaction and a US senator calling for closer scrutiny of the deal. The Federal Trade Commission on Oct. 5 granted early termination of the antitrust waiting period mandated under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, clearing the transaction to proceed past that US pre-merger review hurdle. The FTC says early termination may be granted when the reviewing agencies determine that a transaction is unlikely to substantially lessen competition. The determination brings McCormick and Unilever one step closer to combining their condiment, flavor base and spice portfolios in what would become a "flavor-led" powerhouse with an enterprise value of about $65 billion. The proposal triggered an immediate negative market reaction that caused share prices for both businesses to tumble, following its announcement in March. Investor concerns include the deal's complicated Reverse Morris Trust structure, which would let Unilever spin off the business more tax-efficiently than an outright sale, investors' limited familiarity with each business and the food industry's troubled history with mega-mergers. Despite initial concerns, executives from both companies have extolled the virtues of the deal bringing together Unilever's iconic condiment and flavor brands, including Hellmann's and Knorr, with McCormick's well-established hot sauces and condiments, including Frank's RedHot, Cholula and French's, as well as its eponymous spices and seasonings under Old Bay, Zatarain's, Grill Mates and more. Among the lingering concerns are whether McCormick can efficiently incorporate the Unilever business, which executives dismissed, noting the former's track record of integrating other large acquisitions, including Reckitt Benckiser's food division. Explore related questions. UK review continues. While clearing FTC's antitrust review brings McCormick and Unilever closer to a merger, the deal's success still hinges in part on approval from the UK CMA, which formally launched in September an investigation into whether the deal would compromise competition in UK markets. CMA launched a Phase 1 merger inquiry into the acquisition after receiving comments on the potential impact of the deal, while Unilever separately proposed spinning off into an independent entity its flagship mustard brand Colman's amid concerns combining it with McCormick's French's mustard business could weaken competition. The deadline for CMA's Phase 1 review is Nov. 11, at which point the deal could move one step closer to completion if the authority concludes the transaction doesn't raise competition concerns or if it determines specific issues that can be resolved without additional review. If CMA is not satisfied with its Phase 1 review it could up the ante with a Phase 2 referral, which would entail a much more detailed investigation and suggest the authority had serious competition misgivings. A Phase 2 investigation is not the same as blocking the transaction, but it could prohibit some or all of the transaction if the authority identifies competitive challenges and anti-trust issues. It also could clear the deal subject to specific remedies or divestitures, or if it doesn't find any problems, clear it with no further change. Senator calls for closer scrutiny of food mergers. The same day FTC granted early termination of the McCormick-Unilever deal review, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., voiced concerns about the proposed acquisition and two others in the food industry that she said together "threaten to drive costs up further for struggling families." Warren, who has a long track record of anti-trust and consumer protection advocacy, asked FTC and DOJ in an Oct. 5 letter to "carefully scrutinize the potential anticompetitive implications" of proposed acquisitions by McCormick of Unilever, the supermarket chain Kroger of regional player Giant Eagle, and the restaurant wholesale market behemoth Sysco of Jetro Restaurant Depot. "In isolation, each of these mergers would raise competition concerns; together, they appear to reveal a growing consolidation trend, driven by weak antitrust enforcement under President Trump, that raises costs and hurts consumers, restaurants and small businesses," she wrote. Regarding McCormick's acquisition of Unilever's food business, she argued the former's "increased market share will leave retailers with fewer major suppliers from which to source popular pantry staples and thus give it more power to dictate prices to retailers, while also making it more difficult for smaller manufacturers to compete." While Warren's letter did not stop FTC from granting early termination and does not alter the CMA's independent review of the transition, her concerns about supplier concentration and competition in pantry staples overlap with the broader questions regulators are examining as McCormick and Unilever seek approval for their deal. For McCormick and Unilever, the next major regulatory milestone remains the CMA's Nov. 11 Phase 1 decision, which will determine whether the transaction can proceed in the UK without a deeper competition investigation. While her letter did not stop FTC and she does not have authority of UK's CMA, her concerns amplifies the antitrust questions central to CMA's ongoing investigation.