Marico acquires South African hairstyling brand Isoplus for Rs 36 cr

Marico, has acquired South African hairstyling brand of Isoplus for Rs 36 crore.

This is the second acquisition made by the FMCG major in South Africa. The acquistion has been made by its existing subsidiary in South Africa and the funding would done through a mix of equity and debt.

Isoplus has a turnover of Rs 30 crore and belongs to JM Products and Ms Mary L Harris.

Saugata Gupta, MD and CEO, Marico Limited said “This bolt-on acquisition plugs a critical gap in Marico’s portfolio in the ethnic hair care space in South Africa. Isoplus has a strong consumer franchise and am confident that the team will leverage its strengths and expertise to further grow the business.”

Marico already has presence in South Africa since 2007 when it had acquired local company Enaleni and made it a subsidiary.

Vivek Karve, CFO, Marico, said, `The Isoplus brand has a sales turnover of Rs 30 crore and we have agreed to a consideration of paying Rs 36 crore, which leads to a revenue multiple of 1.2 and the funding would be done through equity and debt.’’ The deal would is expected fructify by Q3FY18.

Marico would be adding to its existing brands of Enaleni like Caivil, Black Chic, Just for Kids, Hercules and Medi-Pac, in the aftercare maintenance, chemical treatments and hair colour segments. The current acquisition of Isoplus is expected to complete its ethnic hair care portfolio in south africa.

This is Marico’s fifth international acquisition, having made its first international foray in 2006 when it had acquired two brands in Egypt. Subsequently it has made additional buys in countries like Malaysia, South Africa and Vietnam. `` Our most expensive acquisition was in Vietnam in 2011 when we acquired the X Men brand,’’ added Karve.

Shares of Marico were up by 1.98 per cent and closed Rs 332.70 on Friday.

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