Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL), through a subsidiary, has acquired a majority stake in Kenya-based home and personal care company, Canon Chemicals. The deal will help GCPL build its presence in the Sub-Saharan Africa market, where it has annualized revenues of $200 million.
The company did not reveal the size of the acquisition, but said the 2015 annualized revenue of Canon Chemicals was 1,146 million Kenyan shillings (approximately Rs 76 crore). The over 40-year-old family-run company is present in categories including petroleum jelly, air fresheners, detergents and candles. Its major brand is Valon, a petroleum jelly.
The move is in line with GCPL's global '3 by 3' strategy, targeting strong regional assets in three emerging markets (Asia, Africa, Latin America) across three categories (home care, personal wash and hair care).
Vivek Gambhir, managing director, GCPL, said: "Canon has a strong track record of serving consumers in Kenya for over 40 years and we look forward to leveraging its strong brand equity and distribution infrastructure, for our business. This acquisition refects our continued commitment to scaling up our presence in Africa and providing African consumers with a wide range of superior quality products at affordable prices. We remain very excited by the tremendous potential of the African market and look forward to further building our business."
Canon Chemicals was ranked among the top 100 mid-sized companies in Kenya in 2013 by KPMG.
The past decade was marked by a string of acquisitions for GCPL, which include Megasari of Indonesia (2010), a leader in household insecticides, air fresheners and baby care; Rapidol, Kinky and Frika in South Africa, and the Darling Group, a leading pan-Africa hair care company; the Issue and Argencos groups in Argentina, leaders in hair colour, in 2010; Cosmetica Nacional in Chile; and Keyline Brands of the UK.