Henkel CEO: plan significant expansion of consumer goods business

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Henkel wants to significantly expand its consumer goods business after merging its cosmetics and detergents divisions, Chief Executive Carsten Knobel told WirtschaftsWoche in an interview.

"We have a clear strategy to grow in the consumer business both organically and through acquisitions," he said in the interview published on Thursday.

Knobel also told WirtschaftsWoche the group wants to sell its Russian business quickly.

"We are aiming for a closing in the first quarter of 2023," he told WirtschaftsWoche. "We are in the final talks."

Henkel said in December it had spun off its Russia business after the chemical and consumer goods company had announced its exit from the country earlier last year.

(Writing by Miranda Murray and Paul Carrel; Editing by Madeline Chambers)