Procter & Gamble (PG) has agreed to sell some of its soap brands to Unilever, the latest move by the consumer-products giant to slim down its product slate.
Unilever is buying all of Camay, and the Zest brand outside of the North America and Caribbean markets. The Anglo-Dutch company is also buying a manufacturing facility in Mexico that employs about 170 people. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of next year, were not disclosed.
P&G in August unveiled plans to shed up to 100 brands, as the company aims to focus on 70 to 80 brands that are responsible for a vast majority of sales and profit. P&G said the other businesses would either be discontinued, or divested. Camay — and most of Zest — now join Duracell to make up the growing list of assets P&G is casting aside.
Unilever said the brands generated about $225 million in revenue in the latest fiscal year. The company added that the brands would benefit from Unilever’s “innovation and R&D capabilities.”
“They will make us one of the market leaders in skin cleansing in Mexico, a priority market for Unilever,” said Alan Jope, president of Unilever’s personal care unit.
