Indiantelevision.com Team

(21 November 2008 9:00 pm)

NEW DELHI: FMCG major Dabur India has acquired 72.15 per cent stake of Fem Care Pharma Ltd (FCPL), yet another popular FMCG company in the women’s skin care products market, for Rs 2.04 billion in an all-cash deal.

Dabur will make an open offer for an additional 20 per cent as part of the takeover regulations.

Says Dabur India chairman Anand Burman, “Acquisition of Fem Care Pharma is in line with our strategy to aggressively expand Dabur’s scale of operations and strengthen its presence in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) space. This transaction would give Dabur an entry into the high-growth skin care market with an established brand name ‘Fem’. Further, Dabur also has the potential to extend the brand into newer and related skin care categories.”

The board of directors of Dabur India approved the acquisition at a board meeting held in Mumbai today. The transaction ascribes a price per share of Rs 800, which translates into an enterprise valuation of approximately Rs 3 billion of Fem Care.

“The acquisition brings to Dabur a portfolio of well-known household brands that enjoy a pole position in their respective categories, offering us a strong platform to enter newer product categories and markets. Fem’s brands fit in well with Dabur’s future growth plans, both for India and international markets. As with our previous acquisition and subsequent integration of Balsara’s Hygiene and Home products businesses, the Fem Care Pharma transaction too would offer substantial synergies for expanding the reach of Fem’s brands in all our geographies as well as better management of overall system costs,” added Dabur India CEO Sunil Duggal.

Fem Care has a leadership position in the fairness bleach category and a strong market position in hair removal and liquid soap category. It is best known for its brand ‘Fem’. The other brands in its portfolio include Oxybleach cream, Botanica anti-ageing cream, Stratum colour protecting hair conditioners, SAKA men’s bleach and Bambi fabric softeners.

Fem Care’s products are also available in markets like Yemen, Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, UAE, Oman etc.

KPMG Corporate Finance and Ambit Corporate Finance were financial advisors to Fem Care Pharma and Dabur respectively.