Home-grown FMCG firm Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is raising its stake in African hair- and skin-care firm Weave Senegal Ltd in an all-cash deal, it said in a stock market disclosure.
The Indian firm will raise the stake from 51% to 100% in Weave Senegal through its Africa-based step down subsidiary Darling Group. The company, however, did not disclose the financial details of the transaction.
GPCL had initially bought 51% in Weave Senegal in August last year.
In June 2011, GCPL had entered into an agreement to acquire 51% stake in Darling Group Holdings which operates in 14 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Darling Group sells hair extension products under the brands Darling and Amigos. The deal was to be completed in three stages geographically with the first phase executed by September 2011. The Indian firm held the right to acquire 100% in operations across countries by 2016. It has therefore been making a string of acquisitions in the past months.
In December last year, GPCL acquired the 49% stake it didn’t already own in Kenya-based Charm Industries. In February last year, GCPL signed a pact with the Darling Group to hike its stake in its two units in South Africa and Mozambique to 90%.
In a prior interaction with VCCircle, Vivek Gambhir, managing director of Godrej Consumer, said the company was looking at large-sized transactions in Africa where it has annualised revenues of about $200 million.
The Mumbai-based company has previously made several other acquisitions overseas outside Africa as well. In 2015, it bought the remaining 40% stake in Chilean hair colour cosmetics company Cosmetica Nacional for an undisclosed amount. GCPL had acquired 60% stake in the cosmetics firm in 2012.
Besides hair-care products, GCPL makes household and other personal-care products under brands such as Good Knight, Cinthol, Godrej No. 1, Hit, Fairglow, Ezee and Protekt.
One of GCPL’s investors is Temasek. In 2012, the Singapore government’s investment unit had invested Rs 685 crore ($135 million then) to buy a 4.9% stake in the Indian firm in what was the single-largest alternative investment deal in the local consumer goods industry.
Like this report? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our top reports.
