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4 years ago

Unilever acquires 81.98 pc share of GlaxoSmithKline, Bangladesh

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In a major corporate takeover, Unilever, on Tuesday, announced its successful completion of acquiring 81.98 per cent shares of GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Limited (GSKBD) from Setfirst (GSK Group).

This acquisition was announced on December 03, 2018 and was subject to obtaining necessary approvals, which have now been secured, a media release of Unilever said.

 Under the acquisition, Unilever one of the largest Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Company of the world,  got the ownership of GSK’s iconic Health Food & Drinks (HFD) portfolio brands including Horlicks, Boost, and Glaxose-D.

Unilever Overseas Holdings B.V, a concern of Unilever, has bought a total of 9,875,144 shares or 81.98 per cent stakes in GSKBD on the block market at Dhaka Stock Exchange on Sunday. While rest 18 per cent of the stake is owned by the general and institutional investors.

This mega deal - is aligned with Unilever’s stated strategy of increasing its presence in health-food categories and in high-growth emerging markets. This is the largest transaction in the history of capital market in Bangladesh, said the company.

On the historic occasion, Kedar Lele, ceo & managing director of Unilever Bangladesh said, “Today marks the day we have been waiting for a long time. We have successfully completed the acquisition of GSK Consumer Healthcare business in Bangladesh even amidst a global crisis. I like to thank GSKBD Board and all regulatory bodies who has supported us in completing one of the biggest transactions in the history of Bangladesh.”

Improving the health and wellbeing of 1.0 billion people by 2020 is a key pillar in Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan. Horlicks and Boost will add to UBL’s stable of purpose driven brands that help consumers to get more out of their lives.

Unilever is known across the world for its responsible business practices deeply engaged in improving the Nutrition Quotient of the country. We will uphold the high-science Nutrition values that you have created in GSK and further amplify it with the high technology orientation of Unilever.

For me, it is even more meaningful as I welcome 147 employees of GSK into larger Unilever family.” Both organisations have common values coming from a lineage of respected parent companies and a shared heritage of building iconic trusted brands”.

GSKBD will continue as an entity with a new name and all the products (Horlicks, Boost, Glaxose-D) in the market will continue to be the entity’s products. Unilever being the 81.98 per cent shareholder of the company will own the products and the liability.

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