Nestle chairman says will not extend purchase contract with L'Oreal

The Swiss company owns a 29.5% stake in L'Oreal

Nestle wants to keep its options open for its stake in cosmetics firm L'Oreal and will not extend a purchase contract with France's Bettencourt family, the food group's chairman told a Swiss newspaper.

The Swiss company owns a 29.5 per cent stake in L'Oreal and the expiry of a 10-year right of first refusal agreement with the Bettencourt family in April 2014 would make it easier for Nestle to sell.

"The right of first refusal will not be extended, that is clear," Peter Brabeck told the Handelszeitung newspaper, in an excerpt of an interview published on its website on Wednesday.