Comments
FMCG company Marico Ltd has bought 85 per cent equity in International Consumer Products Corporation (ICP), a Vietnamese consumer products company, for an undisclosed sum. ICP had a turnover of $25 million in 2010 and has a presence in personal care, cosmetics and sauces and condiments. Marico has bought out stakes held by PE funds Mekong Enterprise Fund and BankInvest Vietnam, and other individual investors. Dr Phan Quoc Cong, who co-founded ICP in 2001, will continue to hold his 15 per cent stake for three years and continue as CEO.
ICP brands include X-Men, a men's personal care product line, which claims a 35 per cent leadership share in the shampoos category in Vietnam. The brand is also present in the body wash gels and deodorant segments. L'Ovite, a premium women's cosmetics brand, and sauces and condiments brand Thuan Phat are part of the portfolio.
Speaking to Business Line , Mr Vijay Subramaniam, CEO, International Business Group, Marico, said, “X-Men is ICP's leading brand and accounts for a bulk of the company's business in Vietnam. We have bought Hair Code in Egypt and more recently, Code 10 in Malaysia (from Colgate-Palmolive). ICP strengthens the presence Marico International Business has in the male grooming space.”
ICP has been growing at a CAGR of 23 per cent, according to Mr Subramaniam. “The idea is to continue to build on this growth. X-Men is the leading brand in its category and the second most trusted personal care brand in Vietnam. The focus for now will be to grow X-Men, L'Ovite and Thuan Phat in the Vietnam market. At a later stage, we would explore synergies with other markets.”
Contribution to global business
The acquisition of ICP will contribute 15 per cent to the revenues of the international business, said Mr Subramaniam, according to a Reuters report. Marico's turnover for 2009-10 was Rs 2,661 crore, with 23 per cent of this coming from the international business.
The Marico scrip on BSE was marginally up from its previous close of Rs 124.45, to end the day at Rs 125.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.