The Ang-Hortaleza Corporation (AHC) and Wipro Consumer Care (WCC) signed a Share Purchase Agreement for the sale of 100% of AHC’s stake in the Personal Care Business of Splash Corporation (SC).
Splash is among the largest personal care players in the Philippine market which recorded revenues of USD 80 Mn. It has built iconic brands like SkinWhite – the number one scientific whitening lotion in the country; Flawlessly U – a fast-growing herbal beauty brand; Maxi-Peel – the leading and dominant brand in the exfoliants category; Vitress – the number one brand in hair styling aids; and, Hygienix – one of the fastest growing germicidal brands today. These brands cover a wide spectrum of personal care categories and are in leading positions in respective segments.
Wipro Consumer Care forms part of Wipro Group of Companies, a US$8.4 billion company based in India and is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. It also has operations in consumer care and lighting, infrastructure engineering and medical systems.
The transaction strengthens Wipro’s Consumer Care portfolio in personal care and completes its South East Asian footprint. Mr. Nagender Arya, Regional Director, Wipro Consumer Care says: “This is an exciting milestone for us, given our Vision of being amongst the top 3 players in Personal Care in Asia.
This transaction gives us a market leading position in the Philippine market, which is one of the strong economies in the region and a formidable personal care market. This is our 11th acquisition and reinforces our commitment to continue to invest in emerging markets and build a strong portfolio of local jewels in terms of brands catering to strong niches in each of the markets.
Brands of Splash overlap with our portfolio in the region and I see tremendous opportunity to further leverage the strengths of our manufacturing, R&D, and sourcing for Splash brands.
Dr. Rolando B. Hortaleza, CEO and founder of Splash Corporation says: “I am very glad that Splash is becoming part of the Wipro group. This gives us immediate access to resources that will help us fuel faster growth in our business, and enable us to unlock the true potential of our brands. Furthermore, Wipro shares our focus of building strategy with local consumer insights as well as in driving operational efficiency." Dr. Hortaleza will stay on as an advisor in the areas of marketing, innovation, and the overall transition of the business.
Mr. Neeraj Khatri, Incoming CEO (Splash Corporation) states: “This acquisition enables us to grow in Philippines market by leveraging Splash’s distribution strength across market segments. Splash’s brands can be expanded further to other international markets where Wipro has strong footprint and brands have latent equity. These brands are not only strong in the Philippines, but also have strong equity in multiple international markets like Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Middle East, and Nigeria.”
