Emami buys controlling stake in Australian firm Fravin

Indian FMCG major Emami Ltd said on Thursday it has acquired a controlling stake of 66.67 per cent in Australia-based Fravin Pty Ltd through its wholly owned UAE arm Emami Overseas FZE. The financial details were not disclosed.

The stake in the Australian firm has not only opened the market further for the Indian company but has also given it access to a range of organic and natural personal care products. The partial acquisition was done through one of its subsidiaries, Emami said in a statement from Kolkata.

"The Fravin acquisition is in sync with the company's strategy to grow aggressively through both organic and inorganic routes in India and overseas. This is a significant step for the organisation as the acquisition marks Emami's entry into organic personal care products, where we were not present earlier," company director Harsh Agarwal said in a statement.

He said the market for organic personal care products which was $7.6 billion in 2013, is expected to double in six years.

Fravin will be a part of Emami's international business division, which contributes around 14 per cent to the FMCG business.

"Rising concerns for health safety, increasing green consciousness and growing awareness of the consumers about the hazards of using products with synthetic chemicals have fuelled the demand for organic personal care products," Agarwal said.