Nestle : Henkel says looking at M&A, no comment on Nestle - Boersen-Zeitung
September 22, 2018 at 10:18 am EDT
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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German consumer goods group Henkel is scanning the market for takeovers, its chief financial officer told a paper, declining to say whether it was looking at Nestle's skin health unit that was put up for sale earlier this week.
"We continue to see acquisition potential," Carsten Knobel told Boersen-Zeitung in an interview published on Saturday. "We have defined, and implemented, M&A as an integral part of our strategy in our current strategy cycle."
Nestle said on Thursday it was exploring strategic options for Nestle Skin Health, which makes Cetaphil and Proactiv skin care brands, with analysts estimating its value at up to 8 billion Swiss francs (£6.4 billion).
"I do not want to comment on that," Knobel said when asked whether Henkel was looking at the division.
Henkel's M&A activity has been muted so far this year after the group spent close to 2 billion euros (£1.8 billion) on takeovers in 2017, something Knobel blamed on high valuations.
"Prices are not cheap, but that's not the only decisive factor. For us it is key whether the target is available, whether there is a strategic fit and whether it is financially attractive. If so, we'll acquire."
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Nestlé S.A. is the world's leading agri-food group. Net sales break down by category of products as follows:
- powdered and liquid beverages (26.7%): soluble coffees (Nescafé and Starbucks brands), coffee in capsules (Nespresso), chocolate drinks (Nesquik, Milo, etc.), tea drinks (Nestea), etc.;
- pet food (20.3%): brands such as Purina, Friskies, Felix, etc.;
- pharmaceutical, nutrition and well-being products (16.4%): nutritional supplements (Resource, Boost, Nutren, Optifast, Peptamen brands, etc.), infant and maternal nutrition products (NAN, illuma, Cerelac, Nido, Gerber), ketogenic beverages (BrainXpert), (Nesquick, Fitness, Cheerios, Lion, etc.), etc.;
- ready meals and seasoning products (12.5%): frozen and chilled dishes (Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets and Stouffer's brands), soups (Maggi), etc.;
- dairy products and ice cream (11.8%): powdered milk, sweetened condensed milk, yoghurt and cream desserts, ice cream (Nido, Nesvita, Carnation, La Laitière, Coffee Mate, Nestlé Ice Cream, Dreyers, Häagen-Dazs, Extrême brands, etc.);
- chocolates, sweets and biscuits (8.7%): Kit Kat, Smarties, Cailler, Terrafertil, etc. brands;
- bottled waters (3.6%): Nestlé Pure Life, Vittel, Perrier, S. Pellegrino, etc. brands.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Switzerland (1.2%), France (3.8%), the United Kingdom (3.8%), Germany (2.4%), Europe (12.8%), the United States and Canada (35%), China (5.9%), Asia and Oceania (21.4%) and Latin America (13.7%).
NESTLÉ S.A. 
