Unilever hires consultants to sell ‘non-core’ beauty portfolio

Unilever has hired Morgan Stanley and Evercore to sell a portfolio of non-core beauty and personal care brands as the company struggles with the impact of inflation.

The portfolio includes Q-Tips, Impulse, Caress, TIGI, Timotei, Monsavon, St Ives, Zwitsal, Ponds, Brut, Moussel, Alberto Balsam and Matey.

Two years ago, Unilever hired Credit Suisse to divest Elida Beauty portfolio but later scrapped its plan as other companies cherry-picked brands from the portfolio and did not satisfy the multinational FMCG company’s expectations.

Now the plan has been revived under the leadership of new CEO Hein Schumacher, who focuses on streamlining the business due to inflation, Reuters said in an exclusive report.

The report noted that Elida Beauty booked revenue of about $760 million in FY22, according to sources of the newswire.

Morgan Stanley and Evercore have already reached out to potential buyers to measure interest for the portfolio, which could be a multibillion-dollar deal, the sources said.