Brussels forces Unilever to sell Sanex personal care line

Food to detergents group Unilever has been told by the European Commission to sell its Sanex personal care line because of fears about the company’s dominant position in the market.

Sanex was part of the portfolio of products Unilever acquired from Sara Lee last year.
Sanex accounts for around 20% of the €750m turnover generated by the Sara Lee products, according to the Financial Times.
Unilever says it is confident it will be able to sell the operations by this time next year.
Alberto Culver
In September, Unilever made a $3.7bn cash offer for personal care products maker Alberto-Culver.
Doug Baillie, head of Unilever’s western Europe operations, told the FT he did not expect that deal to prove a problem. ‘It is a different set of markets,’ Baillie told the paper.