Mumbai, Feb 15 (PTI) Homegrown consumer goods firm Marico today acquired a part of the personal care business from Reckitt Benckiser India, which the domestic arm of the British major had bought from Paras Pharma last year. Both the companies refused to disclose financial details of the deal. Reckitt, last April, acquired Paras Pharmaceuticals's over-the-counter brands including Moov pain relief ointment, Krack heel care lotion, and D'Cold cold remedy for Rs 3,260 crore along with its personal care business with brands such as Set Wet and Zatak, and hair lotion brand Livon. "We are not in a position to comment on the deal size at this point," Marico's consumer products business chief executive, Saugata Gupta, told PTI. On the time for completion of the deal as well as the funding, he said the deal is likely to be sealed in a couple of months, and will be funded through internal accruals, debt and equity. About the rationale behind selling an acquired brand in such a short time, Reckitt Benckiser India chairman and managing director Chander Mohan Sethi said the decision is in line with the parent company's global strategy of focusing on healthcare and personal hygiene brands. "This is perfectly in line with our recently unveiled global strategy of focusing on our healthcare and personal hygiene businesses. We continue to believe that we can deliver to our customers here value-added products from our own OTC drug brands," Sethi told PTI from his Gurgaon headquarters. (More)
