Unilever Raises Stake In Indian Unit To 67.3%

(RTTNews) - Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever Plc (UL, ULVR.L, UN) Thursday said shareholders of its publicly listed Indian subsidiary Hindustan Unilever or HUL tendered 319.7 million shares during the tender period for the open offer that commenced on June 21 and closed on July 4.

It was on April 30 that Unilever announced a voluntary open offer to increase its stake in HUL from 52.48 percent to up to 75 percent at a price of 600 Indian rupee per share.

The company said Thursday that the offer price values the transaction at about 191.8 billion Indian rupee or 2.45 billion euros. Based on the shares tendered which represent 14.8 percent of HUL, Unilever would increase its stake to 67.28 percent.

Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, said: "We are pleased to have received such a good response to our voluntary open offer and that - as a result - we will significantly increase our stake in Hindustan Unilever, an excellent Indian business with a proud heritage and the potential for attractive long-term growth."

ULVR.L closed Thursday higher by 3.6 percent at 2,741.00 pence.