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India's Wipro Buys Singaporean Consumer Goods Maker Unza

Wipro Ltd. is India's third-largest software exporter, but the company also has interests in such consumer products as detergent, lighting and diapers.

NEW DELHI (AP) - India's Wipro Ltd. said Friday that it is buying Singapore-based Unza Holdings, a leading manufacturer of cosmetics and toiletries, for 10.1 billion rupees (US$246 million).
 
Wipro Ltd. is India's third-largest software exporter, but the company also has interests in such consumer products as detergent, lighting and diapers.
 
Unza operates plants in Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Indonesia.
 
''This transaction catapults the combined entity into a strong force across Asian markets,'' Wipro said in a statement. The all-cash deal is expected to be completed by end of this month, it said.
 
The acquisition would help double the size of the market for personal care products that Wipro could now address, Vineet Agrawal, President, who heads the company's consumer care and lighting business, said in the statement.
 
''Unza has an excellent product range and a large portfolio of strong brands catering to Asian consumers,'' Agrawal said. ''They have been able to consistently grow faster than the market in the geographies they are present in.''
 
Unza's portfolio includes such brands as the Enchanteur and Romano range of toiletries and the Safi range of skin-care products.
 
Gavin D. Welman, Managing Director of Unza said, Wipro's takeover of Unza would help the latter gain ''access to resources required to fuel our ambition for further growth and unlock the true potential of our brands.''
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