Unilever plans to separate some of its tea business.
LONDON: Unilever has all the necessary components to split off a portion of its tea business. The spinoff’s format must now be determined by the company management: sale, partnership, or initial public offering (IPO).
Alan W. Jope, the CEO, stated, “The operational separation of our tea business is now substantially complete,” during a conference call with analysts on July 22 to go over first-half financial results. “We have devoted leadership and have built an appealing stand-alone company.”
Unilever said in July 2020 that it was selling off a portion of its tea division, which included the Tazo, Pukka Herbs, T2, and other tea brands. The company intends to stay in its joint venture with PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, NY, and to carry on with its tea operations in Indonesia and India.
The tea companies that are going to be split off will have about 90 facilities and 3,500 employees worldwide. For the new business, the corporation did not disclose a sales figure.
“We’ve set up sales teams in our biggest markets, and we plan to finish the systems implementation within the next two months,” stated Mr. Jope. “We will soon begin working with external parties to carry out a plan, which may involve an initial public offering (IPO), either by a partnership or a sale.
Mr. Jope stated that the decision that maximises value generation for Unilever’s shareholders will determine when the business may be spun off, although he did not specify a timeframe.