Unilever to spend $5.4 bn to raise stake in Hindustan Unilever

Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever Plc will pay $5.4 billion to raise its stake in its Indian unit Hindustan Unilever (HUL) to 75 per cent. Reacting to new, HUL shares surged to an all-time high in morning trade on Tuesday.

Unilever will pay Rs 600 a share in an open offer to raise its stake in Hindustan Unilever to 75 per cent from the current 52.48 per cent, the company said in a filing to the stock exchanges.

The price is 21 per cent hgher than the stock's closing price of Rs 497.35 on Monday.

The world's second-largest consumer goods company "is making a voluntary open offer to acquire 487,004,772 shares representing 22.52 per cent of the total Voting Share Capital from the public shareholders of Hindustan Unilever Ltd," it said.

With PTI inputs