Diversified business house known for its cigarettes and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) products ITC Ltd has signed an agreement with consumer healthcare firm Johnson & Johnson to buy trademarks for its wound care product Savlon and talcum powder Shower To Shower for India, according to a stock market disclosure.
It did not share details on the value of the deal.
The acquisition of these two trademarks and other related intellectual properties will help ITC, which is into hotels, cigarettes, paper packaging, rural retail and various consumer products, strengthen its consumer products business in the country.
The deal with Johnson & Johnson, the world's sixth-largest consumer health and pharma company, will be ITC’s first acquisition in the personal care segment.
‘Savlon’, which is a part of Johnson & Johnson’s oral and wound care portfolio, comes in liquid, soap and hand wash forms and is a distant second to market leader Dettol in the antiseptics market.
'Shower to Shower' is a talcum powder brand. Notably, Johnson & Johnson had sold Shower To Shower business to Valeant Pharmaceuticals sometime back. It is not clear if that global deal excluded India as a market.
This particular brand of talcum powder has been under scrutiny and legal suits over alleged cancer risks.
Founded in 1886 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the US, Johnson & Johnson spread its roots into India in 1947 and in 1948, started marketing its baby powder which was manufactured by a local company, British Drug House, in Mumbai.
It employs more than 2,000 people in India with businesses spanning consumer, medical devices & diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and vision care.
Globally, OTC is the largest contributor to the consumer business of Johnson & Johnson. In India OTC franchise is present in various segments with strong brands which include Benadryl for respiratory health and Nicorette for tobacco cessation. It also has other consumer healthcare brands such as Splenda low calorie sweetener and Listerine mouthwash.
On the other side, although cigarettes still bring bulk of ITC's profits, the firm has been slowly pushing its non-cigarettes business portfolio. It other businesses especially FMCG has grown to become a large revenue contributor.
On Friday, shares of ITC were trading at Rs 370.8, down 0.05 per cent at 11:35 AM on the BSE in a strong Mumbai market.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)