Valeant's CeraVe, other skin care brands sold to L'Oreal for $1.3B

LAVAL , Quebec, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. will sell three of its skin care brands to L'Oreal for $1.3 billion in cash, it announced Tuesday.

The sale of the Canadian company's CreaVe, AcneFree and AMBI skin care lines is the latest effort by Valeant to pare down debt of $30 billion. It agreed Monday to sell Dendreon, its cancer treatment division known for the prostate medication Provenge, to Chinese company Sanpower for $820 million.

The CeraVe brand of cleansers, moisturizers and a baby line is regarded as the most promising asset in the sale to the France-based L'Oreal. It is among the fast-growing skincare brands in the United States, with average growth of 20 percent in the past two years. AcneFree features cleansers and acne treatments; AMBI is aimed at a multicultural clientele and offers face and body creams.

Vleant was embroiled an accounting scandal in 2015 which prompted arrests and a decline in its stock market price from more than $250 per share in 2015 to Monday's closing price of $15.35.