Unilever and private equity firm KKR have reached a deal surrounding the former’s margarine division. KKR will apparently pay 6.8 billion euro; the transaction should be finalized mid-2018.
Goal reached
Unilever had been looking for a buyer for its margarine division for a while, in order to satisfy a number of shareholders which wanted the British-Dutch company to generate more short-term profit. With 6.8 billion euro, Unilever reached its goal of selling off the division for six to seven billion euro. The company profited from several investment firms being interested, also including CVC and Apollo.
It still remains to be seen whether KKR can generate enough money with the margarines, because the margarine market has suffered a lot over the past few years. Turnover is down because of its decreased image and butter’s improved image. KKR will need to invest a lot in innovation and product development before it can actually think about profits.
