Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has signed an agreement with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd to acquire its woman hygiene brand VWash. As part of the agreement, HUL will acquire VWash’s business, the brand, trademarks, copyrights and other associated know-how, HUL said in a statement.
Without disclosing the aquisition amount, the company said the deal would include an upfront cash payment and a deferred consideration over the next three years. The company signed an agreement with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd to acquire intimate hygiene brand VWash, HUL said in a statement.
Both the companies expect to complete the deal in “next few months”. VWash was launched by Glenmark in 2013 and has established itself as the market leader in the female intimate hygiene category, the statement noted.
Commenting on the development, HUL CMD Sanjiv Mehta said: ” The acquisition of VWash gives us an entry into the currently underpenetrated and rapidly growing female intimate hygiene segment. The brand has a leadership position and fits well into the white spaces in our Beauty & Personal Care business.
“ We look forward to completing the acquisition and strongly believe HUL is well-positioned to further scale up this business, given the strength of our market development and distribution capabilities,” he added.
The deal includes the acquisition of intellectual property rights including trademarks, design and know-how related to the VWash brand.
“The consideration has been split into two parts involving an upfront cash payment upon closing of the deal and a deferred consideration over the next three years,’’ it said Glenmark will continue to manage the business until the transaction is completed, and will also continue to manufacture for HUL for an agreed period of time, the statement added.
The proposed acquisition is in line with HUL’s strategic intent to enter fast-growing segments of the future in the premium Beauty & Personal care
In August that year, the company said it had signed an agreement to acquire the ice cream and frozen desserts business of Karnataka-based Vijaykant Dairy and Food Products Ltd. At the time, HUL said the acquisition was aimed at complementing its existing frozen desserts brand Kwality Wall’s.
