Ian Cook, Colgate President and CEO

Unilever will sell its global Sanex business to Colgate-Palmolive for 672 million euros (approximately 940 million US dollars).

Sanex is a premium-priced multi-category personal care brand with a distinct positioning around healthy skin and net sales of 187 million euros in 2010, primarily in Western Europe where the it holds strong market share positions. Liquid body cleansing and deodorants each represent nearly 50% of the business. Unilever acquired Sanex from Sara Lee in 2009.

Sanex is a very strong brand that we have admired for a long time. We are delighted that this acquisition will strengthen Colgate’s positions in the shower gel and deodorant categories in several key countries in Europe and our overall personal care business in that region,” commented Ian Cook, Colgate’s Chairman, President and CEO. “Sanex’s unique positioning around skin health is a terrific complement to Palmolive’s natural extracts and skin care positioning, as well as to our Protex brand which focuses on antibacterial protection for skin."

The deal follows request by the European Commission that Unilever divest the Sanex brand in the European Economic Area due to competition concerns in the deodorants market.

In connection with the Sanex acquisition, Colgate has agreed to sell its laundry detergent business in Colombia to Unilever for 215 million US dollars.

This acquisition will significantly enhance our position in one of the larger detergents markets in Latin America, bringing critical mass to our Colombian business, enhancing our laundry portfolio in the region and further increasing our presence in the fast-growing emerging markets,” said Michael Polk, Unilever’s President Categories.

Our focus is on bolt-on acquisitions that can strengthen our existing portfolio and geographic presence, and help Unilever move closer to achieving our overall ambition of doubling the size of the business,” added Polk.

Both transactions are subject to regulatory approval and include the trademarks, intellectual property and formulations but do not include any manufacturing facilities.