Consumer products group PZ Cussons said it had entered into an agreement to sell its Greek food subsidiary Minerva and its Polish personal care brand Luksja.
PZ Cussons said it had exchanged contracts for the sale of 100% of Minerva to Mirties Enterprises Company, a firm controlled by Luxembourg-based Diorama Investments, for a cash consideration of £41m.
The price would be paid on completion, which was expected within the ‘next few weeks’.
The proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce existing debt in the business and drive focused investment in the firm’s core brands.
The company has also exchanged contracts for the sale of Luksja, together with all associated inventory, to Athens-based personal care company, Sarantis Group.
PZ Cussons and Sarantis have also agreed to enter into a distribution agreement whereby Sarantis would distribute certain PZ Cussons’ core brands (which include Carex, Original Source and Morning Fresh) in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.
Completion of the transaction and commencement of the distribution agreement is subject to competition clearance being granted in relevant territories, including Poland. Following completion, PZ Cussons’ on-the-ground operations in Poland would be wound down.
‘The proposed sale of Minerva and Luksja forms part of PZ Cussons’ new strategy to ‘focus, scale and accelerate’, announced along with our final full-year 2019 results on 23 July 2019. We are streamlining the group to focus investment on core Personal Care and Beauty brands to deliver higher margin earnings, in geographies that can scale, with the aim of returning the group to sustainable, profitable growth,’ said PZ Cussons CEO Alex Kanellis.