New Delhi: Dabur India Ltd has announced its acquisition of a 72 per cent stake in Fem Care Pharma for around Rs203 crore in an all-cash deal.

Reports suggested that Dabur beat companies such as Godrej and Marico to secure the deal. Dabur India's board is said to have approved the acquisition on Friday.

The deal values Fem Care at Rs800 per share, against its prevailing price of Rs656, or for a total of around Rs282 crore, while it gives the enterprise a value at Rs300 crore.

Dabur will now have to make an open offer for an additional 20 per cent of the company in compliance with SEBI takeover guidelines, at Rs800 per share. Dabur has paid a premium of around 22 per cent over the scrip's existing market price.

By acquiring Fem Care Pharma, Dabur will gain a presence in the fast-growing skin care segment, wherein the fairness segment is estimated to have a value of around Rs1,200 crore.

Fem Care Pharma's well-known brands include Fem bleach, hair removing creams, liquid soaps, and others.

Fem made a profit of Rs9.75 crore on a turnover of Rs55 crore during the first half of the current fiscal.

Reports suggested that Dabur has excluded Fem Care's speciality chemical unit from the acquisition, as it did not strategically fit into its portfolio, and made up three per cent of Fem's sales. Another joint venture unit based in the US, Fem Mitechell, in which Fem has a 25 per cent stake, has also been retained by Fem's promoters, reports suggest.

Dabur India chairman Anand Burman said Fem Care Pharma's acquisition is in line with the company's aggressive expansion plans through scaling up of operations and a strengthened presence in the FMCG space.