Emami eyes more buys in health care

Consumer goods entity Emami, known to have grown its portfolio and market share by acquisition in segments it hitherto wasn’t present in, is eyeing further acquisitions this year, to grow its health care and personal care products.

“We are open to acquiring both smallsized and big companies, provided the brand value and business model is good. We can acquire companies with ~50-500 crore (annual) turnover,” Harsh V Agarwal, director, said after their annual general meeting in Kolkata.

Asked if the new goods and services tax (GST) had opened more possibilities for acquiring of smaller companies, he said, “We are open to acquisitions in both these spaces.” Analysts feel that as a result of GST, which calls for tighter compliance norms, several companies in the consumer goods space will be up for grabs by larger FMCG entities.

In June 2015, Emami acquired Kesh King for ~1,651 crore, one of the largest deals in FMCG space then; it opened an entirely new market (hair care) for Emami. In the past, it had also acquired the Zandu brand, opening the balms portfolio. “This year, our core focus will be on health care and personal care products. There will be brand extensions, as well as new launches,” said Agarwal.