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Future Consumer buys Grasim’s personal & baby care products division

By Bhawna Gupta

  • 26 May 2015
Future Consumer buys Grasim’s personal & baby care products division

Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd (FCEL) has signed an agreement with diversified Aditya Birla Group firm Grasim Industries Ltd to acquire its consumer products division for an undisclosed amount, according to a stock market disclosure. The deal is expected to close next month.

The acquisition includes Grasim's skin care, baby care, home care, wet wipes and hand sanitiser products under the brands Kara, Puretta, Handys and Prim. For the financial year ended March 31, 2015, this business recorded net sales of Rs 9.52 crore.

This would boost the non-food products portfolio of Future Consumer. Currently in this segment it has products under brands such as Clean Mate and Care Mate besides SACH, a line of consumer products leveraging on former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

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FCEL (formerly known as Future Ventures) is a part of Future Group that operates a neighbourhood retail chain in 102 cities and 60 rural locations.

In February this year, the company acquired Aadhaar Wholesale Trading and Distribution Ltd, a rural retail distribution unit, by taking the remaining stake form JV partner Godrej Agrovet Ltd and Anamudi Real Estates LLP.

Prior to that, it had increased its stake in Integrated Food Park Pvt Ltd (IFPPL).

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Shares of FCEL were trading at Rs 12.86 each, up 2.39 per cent on BSE in a weak Mumbai market on Monday at 12.56 PM.

Grasim Industries started as a textile manufacturer in 1948 and later diversified into viscose staple fibre (VSF), cement and chemicals businesses. Over the last few years, it had been trying to cut down on its separate business lines and around a decade ago the cement business moved under UltraTech.

Recently, the company ventured into retailing women garments and launched a garment brand Liva through its subsidiary Birla Cellulose.

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Axis Capital Ltd acted as an advisor to Grasim Industries for sale of the consumer products unit to FCEL.

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