Dabur India Ltd on Friday announced the acquisition of majority stake in Fem Care Pharma Ltd (FCPL), which specialises in women?s skin care products. Dabur acquired 72.15% of FCPL for Rs 203.7 crore.

According to analysts, given the current financial condition, relatively smaller size acquisitions such as this are likely to dominate the mergers and acquisitions scene for quite sometime.

The transaction comes for Rs 800 per share, which translates into an equity valuation of Rs 282.4 crore and an enterprise valuation of approximately Rs 300 crore of Fem Care Pharma Ltd. Dabur will make an open offer for an additional 20% shares in the company as required under the takeover regulations.

?Acquisition of Fem Care Pharma is in line with our strategy to aggressively expand Dabur?s scale of operations and strengthen its presence in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) space,? said Anand Burman, chairman, Dabur India Ltd.

He added, this acquisition will allow Dabur to enter the skin care market with a well-known brand ?FEM’, which is growing very fast. Moreover, Dabur also has the potential to extend the brand into newer and related skin care categories.

?The acquisition brings to Dabur a portfolio of well-known household brands that enjoy a pole position in their respective categories, offering us a strong platform to enter newer product categories and markets. Fem?s brands fit in well with Dabur?s future growth plans, both for India and international markets,? Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India Ltd.

Other acquisitions of Dabur include Balsara?s Hygiene and Home products business. Duggal also said the Fem Care Pharma Ltd?s transaction too would offer substantial synergies for expanding the reach of Fem?s brands in the company?s geographies as well as better management of overall system costs.

Fem Care Pharma is best known for its brand ?FEM’. The other brands in its portfolio include Oxybleach cream, Botanica anti-ageing cream, Stratum colour protecting hair conditioners, SAKA men?s bleach and Bambi fabric softeners.

FCPL, which reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 9.75 crore in the first half of the 2008-09 fiscal on a turnover of Rs 54.45 crore, has a sizeable international market presence in markets such as Yemen, Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, UAE and Oman.

?The strengths of Dabur will help expand the distribution of Fem?s brands across India and fuel faster growth for the company, both in India and abroad, thereby enhancing shareholder value,? said Sunita Ramnathkar, joint managing director, Fem Care Pharma Ltd.

?As Dabur gains access to Fem?s research capabilities, we believe it will be able to broaden the company?s product portfolio and further capitalise on the emerging opportunities in domestic and international markets,? said Sunil H Pophale, chairman and managing director, Fem Care Pharma Ltd.