British multinational pharmaceutical company Glaxosmithkline on Sunday said that its shareholders have approved its proposed merger with Unilever’s Indian arm Hindustan Unilever.
Under the terms of the agreement, Hindustan Unilever is acquiring Glaxosmithkline through an all-equity merger.
According to media reports, the company received 99.9 percent votes in favour of the merger. Glaxosmithkline in a BSE filing said, “The proposed resolution approving the Scheme was passed by the requisite majority of the equity shareholders of the Company.”
In January, the Glaxosmithkline said that it had received a proposal from the fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) for its merger deal with HUL.
Hindustan Unilever is India’s largest consumer packaged goods company by sales, according to analysts’ estimates. The FMCG company reported a 13 percent growth in net profits while its volume growth dropped to 7 percent.
Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director of the company, said, “We have delivered a strong performance for the quarter despite some moderation in rural market growth.”
Last year, the food giant had announced the acquisition of Horlicks and Boost from Glaxosmithkline in India and 20 other markets for £3.1 billion.
In March, Hindustan Unilever’s company revenue increased 9.3 percent from the same period last year. According to analysts, the company’s earnings were better than its peers, however the management had cautioned about the slow growth in rural markets.
An analyst with Global research firm Emkay’s said in a note, “The management indicated about a slowdown in market growth led by rural, and the commentary did not indicate any pick-up,”
“We believe that Hindustan Unilever may continue to outperform its peers given its better execution, but slow market growth may impact performance.”