Godrej acquires leading Indian cosmetic brand Swastik

The deal will see the company acquire the Swasktik Shikakai hair and body soap, which is enriched with aritha, amia and shikakai, together with the Swastik Neem deep cleansing toilet soap.

The company has bought both of the brands through the 100 percent acquisition of the Naturesse Consumer Products, from company owner, Muskan Projects.

In a parallel deal Godrej also bought a 100 percent stake in another Muskan company, Essence Consumer Care Products, which is the owner of Genteel, one of India’s fastest growing liquid detergent brands and currently the country’s second best selling product in that category.

Synergies and revenue growth​

Although Godrej acknowledged that the acquisitions would offer cost synergy benefits and would represent positive revenue growth, none of the companies involved in the transactions would reveal how much the businesses were acquired for.

“As the largest domestic Indian home and personal care company, we continue to cement our leadership position, both organically and inorganically,”​ said Ad Godrej, chairman of Godrej Consumer Products.

“In line with our 3 by 3 strategy – presence in the Asia, Africa, and Latin America through 3 core categories – personal care, hair care and home care, we continue to follow a disciplined and focused approach to acquisitions that represent a strong fit to our business, both strategically and operationally.”​

On the acquisition trail​

Last year the company stated that is was on the acquisition hunt with a war chest of up to $1bn to invest with.

The company said it wanted to expand its business in other emerging markets such as China, Brazil and Nigeria,

At the time Adi Godrej told Dow Jones Newswires that the company wais interested in acquisitions that fall into the $15m to $1bn bracket.