Unilever Nigeria said on 19 April that the recently announced plans by the Unilever Group to sell its Spreads business would not impact on its Nigerian operations.
The Unilever Group announced on 6 April of plans to sell its Spread business after spurning a US$143 billion take over bid from rival Kraft Heinz.
Unilever announced plans to restructure two major divisions, review its dual legal structure and buy back $5.3 billion in stock as it seeks to cut costs and appease investors after rejecting the Kraft Heinz bid.
The company said that the plans would unlock billions of dollars in savings and return billions more to shareholders by increasing its dividend 12 percent. The company also said it would seek to buy back 5 billion euros, or about $5.3 billion, in stock.
The spreads business includes the margarine brands Country Crock, Flora and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, which was merged two years ago with a baking and cooking segment in Unilever’s foods division.
In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on 19 April, Unilever stated that the planned diversification “has no immediate effect on the activities of Unilever Nigeria.”
Unilever Nigeria Plc. is engaged in the manufacture and marketing of foods and food ingredients, and home and personal care products.
The Company’s segments are Food Products, Home Care and Personal Care products. Its Foods Products segment includes sale of tea, savory and spreads, which may now be spurn off if this deal goes through. Sources say that the Spreads business is not a significant income earner for Unilever Nigeria.
The Company’s Home Care segment includes sale of fabric care, household cleaning and water purification products. The international brands include Close-Up toothpaste, Pepsodent toothpaste, LUX beauty soap, Lifebuoy soap, Rexona, Vaseline lotion and Vaseline Petroleum Jelly in the Personal Care Unit of the business; Blue Band Margarine, Lipton Yellow Label Tea and Knorr bouillon cubes in the Foods Unit; and OMO Multi-Active Detergent, Sunlight washing powder and Sunlight Dish washing liquid in the Home Care Unit.
Other Regional and local jewels include the Pears Baby Products range and Royco bouillon cubes. The Company has manufacturing sites in Oregun, Lagos State and Agbara, Ogun State, according to a company profile by Reuters.
The Unilever Group in July 2015 successfully closed a tender offer, which increased its stakes in Unilever Nigeria from about 50 percent to about 70 percent. The Group had increased its stakes in the Nigerian subsidiary because it believed it had significant long term potential.
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