FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Limited today announced that it has successfully completed the merger of GSKCH.

Popular milk supplement brands Horlicks, Boost will now be brought by the makers of Dove, Pears and Lipton brands, among others as GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited’s merger with HUL has been completed. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Limited today announced that it has successfully completed the merger of GSKCH. The merger was announced in December 2018. “This is one of the largest deals in the FMCG sector in recent times and will lead to significant value creation for all stakeholders,” HUL said in the statement.  The Indian arm of British-Dutch major has acquired Horlicks Brand for India from GSK for Rs 3,045 crore. GSKCH also has Boost, Maltova and Viva under its portfolio which will now also come under HUL.

“The merger gives us a unique opportunity to live our purpose and serve India where nutrition related challenges form the largest causes of disease — Malnutrition and Micronutrient deficiency — and aligns well with the government’s ambitious Swasth Bharat and Poshan Abhiyan programs,” Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever, said. Horlicks has almost half of the volume share of the nutrition staple segment. The brand was introduced in India in the 1930s. HUL and GSK have a consignment selling arrangement to distribute brands of the GSK Consumer Healthcare family in India. HUL will leverage its distribution network to market brands such as GSK’s Eno, Crocin, Sensodyne. 

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited’s business had a turnover of Rs 45 billion in the last financial year and the major contribution to it was via Horlicks and Boost brands. “The merger of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited with HUL has been on the basis of an exchange ratio of 4.39 HUL shares for each GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited share,” the company said. Unilever’s new holding in HUL now stands at 61.9% from the previous 67.2%.