The United Kingdom-based consumer products company, PZ Cussons has announced the proposed sale of its Nigerian dairy business, Nutricima, to FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, an affiliate of Royal FrieslandCampina in the Netherlands.
This was disclosed by the former in a statement issued and seen by Nairametrics. Financial details of the transaction have not been divulged by either of the companies.
Nutricima manufactures and distributes beverages in Africa. Its product portfolio includes milk and yoghurt based drinks such as Nunu, Yo, and Olympic. Under Nunu brand, the company offers a wide range of powdered, evaporated and ready-to-drink (RTD) milk beverages, while under Yo brand. it offers yoghurt drinks, as well as an RTD yoghurt range.
Details: PZ Cussons exchanged sale agreements of the assets associated with Nutricima’s business with FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria, an affiliate of Dutch multinational dairy cooperative Royal FrieslandCampina. Completion of the deal is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals in Nigeria.
In addition to this deal, PZ Cussons completed the sale of its Polish personal care brand Luksja to Athens based personal care company Sarantis Group.
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As part of the deal, Sarantis has also agreed to distribute certain PZ Cussons’ brands including Carex, Original Source and Morning Fresh in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.
Speaking on the proposed sale of Nutricima, the Executive Chair of PZ Cussons, Caroline Silver said the deal is in line with the group’s strategy and that it would enable it to deliver high margin earnings, amongst others.
“The proposed sale of Nutricima and the sale of Luksja are further steps forward under our ‘Focus, Scale and Accelerate’ strategy, as we continue to streamline the Group to focus investment on core Personal Care and Beauty brands. This will enable us to deliver higher-margin earnings, in geographies which can scale, and support the return of the Group to sustainable, profitable growth,” Silver said.
What you should know: Through its WAMCO subsidiary, FrieslandCampina has a long history in Nigeria. It was incorporated in April 1973 as West Africa Milk Company Nigeria (WAMCO) and commenced operations in 1975. The company is an affiliate of Royal FrieslandCampina of The Netherlands, one of the largest dairy producers in the world.
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About PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc: PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc is a subsidiary of Manchester-based PZ Cussons Holdings which owns controlling shares in the firm. It is a publicly listed Nigerian manufacturer and distributor of consumer products such as detergents, toiletries, soaps, and home appliances.
The company basically produces beauty and personal care, baby products, bath products, oral care, health care, fragrances, and skincare. Some of the popular products produced by PZ include soaps like Ava, Canoe, Elephant, Flourish, Joy, Morning fresh, Nunu and Premier, to name a few.
