Unilever Acquires Majority Stake In Qinyuan Group, China

(RTTNews) - Unilever (UN, ULVR.L, UL) announced it has acquired a majority stake in the Qinyuan Group, a Chinese water purification business for an undisclosed amount. Unilever said the deal will more than double the size of its water purification business.

Qinyuan Group Co., Ltd. is a high-tech and innovation-driven company, providing environmental products, including water purifiers, drinking water equipment and water treatment membranes. Founded in 1998, Qinyuan invented the first water purifier for dispensng water and the first instant hot water dispenser in the world. Qinyuan is also the leader of China's National Water Purification System Standardization Working Group. The company has 2 R&D labs, 2 manufacturing plants, and 2,500 employees.

Qinyuan generated sales approaching 140 million euros for the 12-month period ending 31 December 2013.

Unilever CEO Paul Polman said: "This strategic investment - a majority stake in Qinyuan - is our biggest acquisition in China for more than ten years. Unilever has been building a global water purification business with Pureit, a very effective, affordable water purification device, already present in several countries in South Asia, South East Asia, Latin America and Africa. This deal will more than double the size of our water purification business and will bring together complementary technology from Pureit and Qinyuan and leverage Qinyuan's local marketing insight, manufacturing and distribution strength - all under the Unilever umbrella."