Consumer goods giant Unilever is reviving efforts to sell some of its non-core beauty and personal-care brands, including Q-Tips and Impulse.
Unilever has hired investment banks Morgan Stanley and Evercore to sell a portfolio of brands under its Elida Beauty business, Belgian publication Gondola.be reported, citing a Reuters report.
The initiative marks the revival of an attempt that was made two years ago, and the ‘first major measure’ by new chief executive Hein Schumacher, who is focusing on streamlining the company’s operations, the report noted.
Elida Beauty
In 2021, Unilever teamed up with Credit Suisse to sell Elida Beauty, but pulled the process later that year, as offers did not meet its valuation expectations.
In 2022, Elida Beauty generated cumulative sales of approximately $760 million. Sources told Reuters that the sale of Elida Beauty could be worth several billion dollars.
Other brands in the Elida Beauty range include Caress, TIGI, Timotei, Monsavon, St. Ives, Zwitsal, Ponds, Brut, Moussel, Alberto Balsam and Matey.
First-Half Performance
In July, Unilever reported underlying sales growth of 9.1% in the first half of its financial year, driven by a 9.4% increase in price. Volumes were down 0.2% in the period.
The company noted that it expects underlying sales growth for the full year to be above 5%, ahead of its multi-year range, with underlying price growth continuing to moderate through the year.
Commenting on the results, Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman said, “We would flag that Unilever’s billion-plus-euro brands continued to drive the portfolio forward, accounting for 55% of [the] group, while delivering underlying sales growth of 10.8%, led by strong performances from Rexona, Hellmann’s, OMO, Sunsilk and Lux. We think this is a good start for Hein Schumacher as CEO.”
