Just In: Unilever Nigeria Transfers Tea Brands To ‘TeaCo Group’

Unilever Nigeria Plc has transferred its tea business to a newly-incorporated tea company in Nigeria, ‘New TeaCo’, almost a year after it disclosed the plan.

A disclosure posted by the Nigerian subsidiary on Friday was following the approval of its Board of Directors on April 30, 2021, the company announced.

The Company said, “Subject to approval by the Company’s shareholders and any regulatory approvals, the Nigeria Tea Business will be transferred to a newly-incorporated tea company in Nigeria (“New TeaCo”), held under a newly incorporated tea holding company to create a dedicated tea group within the Unilever Group (“TeaCo Group”).”

The separation of the tea business follows announcement by the Unilever Group to disconnect its global tea business, including the retail and food solutions businesses, plantations, T2 and Pukka (the “Tea Business’ ‘).

The Groups tea business across its different markets is valued N1.1trn (€2bn).

Unilever global company made the decision following its results for the first half of 2020, which showed that overall underlying sales declined by 0.1 per cent with developed markets up by 2.4 per cent and emerging markets down by 1.9 per cent.

Black tea comprises the majority of Unilever’s global tea business.

In Nigeria, Unilever’s most popular tea brands are the Lipton Tea and Brooke Bond.

The board of Unilever Nigeria had on February 25, 2021 said that its brands of tea business will operate as a separate entity by the end of 2021.

The subsidiary said on the development that the assets being transferred by Unilever Nigeria Plc to New TeaCo include production assets and other tangible assets used exclusively in relation to the Tea Business.

New TeaCo also has the distribution rights to tea products in Nigeria and export markets.

The new company will also have locally owned unregistered intellectual property rights of the business.

It said, “Unilever Nigeria Plc will retain ownership of the site at Agbara.

“Unilever and Unilever Nigeria Plc will also provide certain inter-company services to the New TeaCo and the TeaCo Group for a transitional period.”