Unilever To Operate Tea Business As Separate Entity By December

The board of Unilever Nigeria Plc has said that its brands of tea business will operate as a separate entity by the end of 2021.

The move comes after the parent company- Unilever global company last year notified shareholders of planned separation of its N1.1trn (€2bn) tea business across its different markets.

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.

It also suffered declining sales of traditional black tea in developed markets as consumers shift toward herbal tea. The company however planned to separate its tea business from the core Unilever business.

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

Unilever Nigeria in notice seen by THE WHISTLER on Thursday said, “Further to the announcement made on 5th August, 2020 about Unilever’s global announcement on the Strategic Review and planned separation of its Tea business, this is to notify the Nigerian Stock Exchange and our esteemed shareholders of the plan to separate the Unilever Nigeria Plc tea business into a separate legal entity.

“The planned separation will go through the normal approval process and is expected to be concluded by the end of 2021. We shall keep the Nigerian Stock Exchange and stakeholders informed of subsequent developments on this matter.”

Brands to be included in the divestment include Tazo, Pukka Herbs, T2 and others, the parent company had said.

Unilever global, first made the move in January 2020 when it announced a strategic review of the global tea business, which includes leading brands such as Lipton, Brooke Bond and PG Tips.

The company said it would retain the tea businesses in India and Indonesia, and the partnership interests it has in the ready-to-drink tea joint ventures.