Unilever sells tea business

Unilever has announced that it will be selling its ekaterra tea business to CVC Capital Partners for $7 billion. ekaterra has 34 brands in its portfolio such as T2, Lipton and Pukka, all of which will be moved under the umbrella of the investment group.

Certain parts of the ekaterra business will be staying within Unilever’s purview. Unilever’s relationship as part of the Pepsi Lipton partnership and thus its ready-to-drink tea joint venture and all associated distributorships will remain in place. Also, Unilever’s tea business in India and Nepal will remain unchanged.

ekaterra’s sale to CVC will need to go through consultations and regulatory approval before it is finalised. It is expected that the completion of the transaction will occur in the latter half of 2022.

“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 Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever.

“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.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/zhu difeng