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Bloomberg
Unilever’s departing Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman, in a major push into India that may be his last deal, agreed to pay about $1 billion more than his closest rival for GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s consumer business in the country, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Anglo-Dutch conglomerate agreed to pay $3.8 billion in cash and stock from its Indian subsidiary to take control of the consumer business, including malted milk beverage Horlicks.
Nestle SA’s offer was lower, but was all cash, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details aren’t public.
One of Polman’s last acts as CEO will be attending a capital markets day in India with the rest of his executive team this week.
Graeme Pitkethly, the Anglo-Dutch company’s chief financial officer, said comparisons were difficult because of the way the offers were structured.