Unilever sold its global tea business Ekaterra, including its popular Lipton tea brand, to CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII for $5.07 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
Along with Lipton, Ekaterra’s portfolio of 34 brands includes Tazo and internstional brands PG tips, Pukka, and T2. The unit generated approximately $2.5 billion in 2020 alone. Unilever launched a strategic review of its global tea business in January 2020.
“The evolution of our portfolio into higher growth spaces is an important part of our growth strategy for Unilever. Our decision to sell ekaterra demonstrates further progress in delivering against our plans,” said Global CEO Alan Jope in a Nov. 18 statement.
“We are proud of the place that our Tea business has in our company’s history. We look forward to seeing ekaterra, with its strong brands and global footprint, prosper under CVC’s ownership. I would like to thank our Tea colleagues around the world for their passion and commitment to our Tea business and wish them well for the future,” he said.
“Ekaterra is a great business, built on strong foundations of leading brands and a purpose-driven approach to its products, people and communities. Ekaterra is well positioned in an attractive market to accelerate its future growth, and to lead the category’s sustainable development,” said Pev Hooper, a managing partner at CVC Capital Partners. “We look forward to working with the team to realise Ekaterra’s full potential.”
Completion of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals as well as the completion of works council consultation processes, is expected in the second half of 2022.
The deal does not include Unilever’s tea business in India, Nepal or Indonesia, and does not include Unilever’s interests in the Pepsi Lipton ready-to-drink tea joint ventures and associated distribution businesses.
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