Tiger Brands enters into agreement to sell baby wellbeing business

Disposal of its Baby toiletries and medicinal products forms part of portfolio optimisation strategy to simplify the company’s portfolio of brands, with the Baby Nutrition business remaining core to its portfolio. 

Johannesburg, 20 November 2024 – Tiger Brands announces the company has entered into a sale of business agreement to dispose of its Baby Wellbeing business as a going concern to an unrelated third-party purchaser. The total cash value of the transaction is R605 million. In addition, the purchaser will also acquire inventories relating to the Baby Wellbeing business on the effective transaction date, currently expected to be approximately R25 million in value. 

The sale of business agreement follows the successful sale of select non-core Home and Personal Care brands that include Bio Classic, Bio Crystal, Kair, Fiesta, Black Silk and Eulactol. The sale of the select non-core brands was effective 30 September 2024 for a total cash consideration of R161 million, inclusive of inventories.

The Baby Wellbeing business currently forms part of the company’s Home Care, Personal Care and Baby Division and includes a wide range of baby toiletry and medical products marketed under leading South African brands.

The purchaser will acquire Tiger Brands’ Baby Wellbeing business, as a going concern, along with all trademarks associated with Elizabeth Anne’s and all trademarks linked to its baby medicinal brands (namely, Phipps, Muthi Wenyoni, Telament, and Antipeol). The transaction also includes the rights to manufacture and sell Vi-daylin under licence. Tiger Brands will remain the owner of the Purity brand and trademarks, which are associated with its Baby Nutrition business, and have entered into a limited licence that will allow the purchaser the use of the Purity brand for an agreed period of time.

Tiger Brands’ Baby Nutrition business will remain a core part of the company’s food manufacturing portfolio.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with a leading South African manufacturer of home and personal care products for the sale of our Baby Wellbeing business, which holds a portfolio of iconic wellbeing brands that have been trusted by generations of parents and caregivers.
 
During the last year, we have restructured our business and have undertaken an extensive portfolio review to identify business units and categories where there is no longer a financial or strategic fit. This transaction marks another milestone in the simplification of our portfolio and will enable us to intensify our focus on the Baby Nutrition business, a core area where we believe we have a clear competitive advantage. We remain committed to further refining the Tiger Brands business through targeted disposals and enabling strategic investments to deliver superior and sustainable long-term returns,” says Tjaart Kruger, Chief Executive Officer, Tiger Brands.  

The sale of business agreement is subject to suspensive conditions, including the regulatory approval of the Competition Authorities in South Africa.