A woman walks past a L'Occitane advertisement in Hong Kong April 19, 2010. Cosmetics retailer L'Occitane International S.A. plans to raise up to $708 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering, a source close to the deal said on Sunday night. Reinold Geiger has given up on his tentative plan to buy out the minority of shares he doesn’t already own of L’Occitane (0973.HK), a move that would have delisted the European skincare group from Hong Kong in the Asian hub’s largest take-private. The Austrian billionaire didn’t explain why he shelved the idea, which was probably a prelude to a relisting in Europe – mostly likely France. The appeal of such a move is unlikely to have diminished as global investors turn cold on both Hong Kong and China stocks, possibly for the long term.

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Persons: Reinold Geiger, doesn’t, didn’t, Geiger, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: L'Occitane International S.A, Reuters, HK, Prada, Bloomberg, X, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, MUMBAI, Austrian, Europe, France, China, Una