Indian consumer products maker Marico has acquired the personal care business of Paras Pharmaceuticals from UK consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser for an undisclosed amount. 

Amarchand & Mangaldas advised Marico with a team led by Partner Leena Chacko.

PRA Law Offices advised Reckitt with a team led by Partners P. Srinivasan and R. Jawahar Lal along with Senior Associate Sanjeev Jain.

According to Dealcurry, Marico is acquiring Set Wet, Livon, Zatak and certain other personal care brands from Reckitt Benckiser, which it acquired from Paras Pharmaceuticals in a deal completed during April 2011.

Pursuant to the acquisition, all key assets including intellectual property rights, supply agreements and third party manufacturing agreements relating to the personal care business shall be transferred to a separate company - Halite Personal Care India Private Limited in which Marico will acquire 100% shares.

In December 2010, Reckitt Benckiser Group acquired Paras Pharmaceuticals for Rs. 3260 crore from the Patel family, Actis LLP and Sequoia Capital.

Reckitt is well known for its products Dettol, antiseptic liquid and soaps, besides Veet, hair remover, Strepsils, throat lozenges, and Mortein, pest control aerosol sprays and mosquito repellents. Reckitt wanted to sell personal care business as it was keen on focusing on Paras’ healthcare business, which has strong brands as D'Cold and Moov. 

Brands in the Paras personal care products portfolio are among the top three positions in the hair gel, male deodorant and leave-on hair serum categories. This acquisition gives Marico a strong presence in the rapidly growing deodorant and male grooming categories in India. And it will further reduce Marico’s dependence on edibles oils and hair oils, reports VCCircle.

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