UNILEVER SELLS STAKE IN JOHNS

RNS Number : 4199A

Unilever PLC

07 October 2009

 



UNILEVER SELLS STAKE IN JOHNSONDIVERSEY

Unilever today announced that it is to reduce its equity interest in JohnsonDiversey from 33 per cent to 4 per cent. Unilever will receive $158m in cash together with $250m senior notes with a 10½ per cent coupon, payable in cash or kind. This transaction follows on from the original 2002 sale of Unilever's institutional and industrial cleaning business to Johnson Wax Professional.  

At the same time JohnsonDiversey have announced that Clayton, Dubillier & Rice, Inc (CD&R) are to take a 46 per cent equity interest as part of a broader recapitalisation transaction.

In addition, JohnsonDiversey will continue to sell and distribute certain Unilever products into the professional commercial cleaning and hygiene market.

The transaction, which is conditional on JohnsonDiversey and CD&R completing debt financing and receiving regulatory approvals, is expected to close before the year end.

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Notes to Editors:

• Diversey was acquired by Unilever from Molson in 1996 and integrated with its Lever Industrial International business to become DiverseyLever.   

• As Unilever continued to focus its portfolio on its consumer business, the DiverseyLever institutional and industrial cleaning business was subsequently sold in 2002 to Johnson Wax Professional (JWP) for $1billion in cash, $279m senior notes (subsequently traded for cash in the financial market), and an equity interest of 33 per cent in the newly-combined JohnsonDiversey business.

• More information on JohnsonDiversey and their press announcement can be found at: www.jdtransaction.com and www.johnsondiversey.com

About Unilever

Unilever's mission is to add vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with leadership positions in many of its product categories and strong local roots in more than 100 countries across the globe. Its global brand portfolio includes some of the world's best known and most loved brands including Knorr, Hellmann's, Flora, Rama, Dove, Axe, Rexona, Lux, Sunsilk, Omo/Persil/Skip, Surf, Wall's, Lipton and Ben & Jerry's. In 2008, Unilever had approximately 174,000 employees and generated annual sales of €40 billion, of which close to 50% was achieved in developing and emerging markets such as Asia, Africa, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe.

More information about Unilever and its brands can be found at www.unilever.com.

Safe Harbour

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, including 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'expects', 'anticipates', 'intends', 'believes' or the negative of these terms and other similar expressions of future performance or results, including any financial objectives, and their negatives are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting the Group. They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, competitive pricing and activities, consumption levels, costs, the ability to maintain and manage key customer relationships and supply chain sources, currency values, interest rates, the ability to integrate acquisitions and complete planned divestitures, the ability to complete planned restructuring activities, physical risks, environmental risks, the ability to manage regulatory, tax and legal matters and resolve pending matters within current estimates, legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments, political, economic and social conditions in the geographic markets where the Group operates and new or changed priorities of the Boards. Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are described in the Group's filings with the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report & Accounts on Form 20-F. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Group's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

 

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