Jyothi Laboratories acquires 14.9 per cent stake in Henkel India

Jyothi Laboratories has acquired a 14.9 per cent stake in rival detergent maker Henkel India, making it the largest single Indian shareholder in the company.

Jyothi Laboratories bought 1,73,51,686 shares of Henkel India at Rs35 a share from Tamil Nadu Petrochem Ltd (TNPL) in an all-cash deal worth Rs60.73 crore.

The investment will help Jyothi Laboratories strengthen its presence in urban and rural India, the company said in a release.

Jyoti Laboratories said it would also participate in the bidding process for Henkel AG's 50.9 per cent stake in Henkel India Ltd.

Jyoti Laboratories and Henkel India have synergy in various business segments as both are present in the home care, fabric care, personal care and household cleaning segments, the release said.

"There is synergy between the two companies' product offerings and we saw a value added proposition in this stake purchase", the release quoted M P Ramachandran, chairman and managing director of Jyoti Laboratories, as saying.

Henkels' key brands include Henko, Mr White, Pril, Fa, Neam and Mango.

Jyothy Laboratories started off in 1983 as a proprietary concern manufacturing and selling a single product - fabric whitener - in a single district. The organisation has now grown to become a multi-brand, multi-product company with turnover in excess of Rs400 crore and operations all over India.