After beating out potential bids from Nestle and Coca-Cola, Unilever has signed a deal to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s nutrition business, Horlicks, for $3.8 billion.
The deal is the latest move in GSK’s effort to streamline its portfolio and shift its investments to pharmaceuticals. Hours before the Unilever deal was announced, GSK said it has agreed to buy cancer drugmaker Tesaro for $5.1 billion.
For Unilever, the acquisition will allow the company to boost its food and drinks portfolio. In particular, the company is looking to leverage Horlicks’ market share of malted milk in India, as well as its health food and drinks products marketed in about 20 (mostly Asian) countries.
Under the terms of the deal, Unilever will purchase Horlicks for about $3.8 billion.
Read the full Reuters report.
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