Dabur buys Fem Care to bolster skin care range

By Jasudha Kirpalani

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Personal care products maker Dabur India Ltd has agreed to buy a 72.15 percent stake in fairness bleach maker Fem Care Pharma Ltd, expanding its presence in India's growing consumer goods market.

Dabur will make an open offer for 20 percent in Fem Care , to conform to Indian regulations, taking the total deal size to 2.6 billion rupees and giving Fem Care an enterprise valuation of 3 billion rupees, it said.

The acquisition will be funded through internal accruals and the open offer will be made at 800 rupees, the same as the deal, vice-chairman Amit Burman told Reuters over the telephone.

"Skin care segment is the fastest growing segment. We have a small presence... this (acquisition) will really give us the presence to move in that area," he said.

Dabur will discuss delisting Fem Care in six to nine months and run it as a subsidiary now, he added.

Dabur, which makes health care, food, ayurvedic formulations and personal care products, plans to fund the acquisition through internal accruals, Burman said. Fem Care owns the brand FEM.

Dabur's reserves and surplus stood at 5.3 billion rupees at the end of March 2008, its annual report showed and its September quarter net profit was at 1.07 billion rupees.

"Dabur also has the potential to extend the brand into newer and related skin care categories," chairman Anand Burman said in a statement.