Ajay Piramal-led Piramal Enterprises Ltd has acquired baby-care brand Little's for an undisclosed amount, entering a new segment to expand its consumer products business.
The acquisition will add eight categories to Piramal Enterprises’s consumer product division that sells Lacto Calamine lotion and headache drug Saridon, according to a statement.
Kedar Rajadnye, president and chief operating officer of the consumer products division at Piramal, said the acquisition will help the company achieve its target of becoming a top-three player in over-the-counter (OTC) products by 2020.
He said that Piramal Enterprises currently caters to children in the 5-10 age group through the Jungle Magic brand. “With this acquisition, we now have an offering for babies in the 0-4 age group. This allows us to partner with mothers and provide well-being solutions for their children right from their birth till they reach the age of 10 years,†he said.
Started in 1980, Mumbai-based Little’s makes feeding bottles, skin-care products, grooming accessories, apparel and toys for babies.
The brand is available at 25,000 outlets including chemist shops, and cosmetics and kids stores. The company has been growing at an average annual pace of 30 per cent over the past few years, according to the statement.
Piramal Enterprises entered the OTC market with the acquisition of Saridon from Roche Holding AG and Lacto Calamine from Duphar Interfran Ltd in the early 1990s.
The company launched its consumer products division in 2007. Apart from Saridon and Lacto Calamine, its portfolio includes the emergency contraceptive i-pill that it purchased from Cipla Ltd in 2010. The division also sells pain-relieving mouth ulcer gel QuikKool, antacid Polycrol, medicated soap Tetmosol, Jungle Magic perfumes as well as dermatology brand Caladryl, acquired from Valeant Pharmaceuticals two years ago.