Henkel to enter Australia and New Zealand’s laundry market

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA has signed an agreement with Colgate-Palmolive Company to acquire its entire range of laundry detergents and pre-wash brands in Australia and New Zealand.

With the acquisition of powder and liquid detergents as well as pre-wash brands, including the Cold Power, Dynamo, Fab and Sard brands, Henkel will become one of the largest players in the detergents category in the Australia/New Zealand region. In total, the brands to be acquired generated sales of about 110 million euros in the fiscal year 2014.

“This agreement is another step in the execution of our global strategy to selectively invest in attractive country category positions,” said Bruno Piacenza, Executive Vice President Laundry & Home Care. “With this transaction we will cover an attractive regional white spot in our core category Laundry Care with successful brands. The acquired business also provides a platform to further expand our Laundry & Home Care business by leveraging our broad portfolio of leading brands and innovations in these markets.”

The purchase price amounts to 220 million euros and will be financed in cash. The transaction will be accretive to earnings upon closing. The closing of the transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals and expected to take place in the third quarter of 2015.

Henkel is already present in Australia and New Zealand with its Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies businesses and strong international brands including Schwarzkopf and Loctite.

This document contains forward-looking statements which are based on the current estimates and assumptions made by the corporate management of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. Forward-looking statements are characterized by the use of words such as expect, intend, plan, predict, assume, believe, estimate, anticipate and similar formulations. Such statements are not to be understood as in any way guaranteeing that those expectations will turn out to be accurate. Future performance and the results actually achieved by Henkel AG & Co. KGaA and its affiliated companies depend on a number of risks and uncertainties and may therefore differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are outside Henkel’s control and cannot be accurately estimated in advance, such as the future economic environment and the actions of competitors and others involved in the marketplace. Henkel neither plans nor undertakes to update forward-looking statements.