LONDON - The British-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever said Monday that it had acquired a majority stake in the Chinese water purification company Qinyuan Group, for an undisclosed amount.
The deal represents Unilever’s largest acquisition in China in more than a decade.
Unilever already has a water-purification presence in Asia, centered around its Pureit line, which the company introduced in 2005.
“This deal will more than double the size of our water purification business and will bring together complementary technology from Pureit and Qinyuan and leverage Qinyuan’s local marketing insight, manufacturing and distribution strength - all under the Unilever umbrella,†Paul Polman, chief executive of Unilever, said in a statement Sunday.
Qinyuan manufactures water purifiers, drinking-water equipment and water-treatment membranes. It employs about 2,500 people.
The company had annual sales of nearly 1.2 billion renminbi, or about $200 million, for the 12-month period that ended Dec. 31.
