Perrigo adds Eastern European brands with acquisition

Perrigo is growing its global brand portfolio with its latest acquisition. The Dublin-based OTC and private brand powerhouse is acquiring Eastern European OTC skin care and hair loss treatment brands Emolium, Iwostin and Loxon from Sanofi for roughly $23 million. 

“We continue to prioritize opportunities that build on our self-care transformation and seek bolt-on assets that support our five growth pillars,” said Perrigo CEO Murray Kessler. “We are pleased to add these margin enhancing assets to strengthen our international self-care portfolio and deliver value for our shareholders.”

Perrigo also recently partnered with CBD supplier Kazmira to bring store brand CBD products to market, and it acquired parts High Ridge Brands in February, as examples of the company's continual growth strategy.

Svend Andersen, Perrigo’s executive vice president and president of consumer self-care international, said that the time is right for Perrigo to assert itself in the European self-care marketplace. In the past three years, he said his business unit has exited or divested several businesses outside of its strategy, rationalized more than two-thirds of its SKUs and brought more manufacturing in house. 

“Margin-enhancing self-care acquisitions that fit within our product portfolio and add needed scale to certain countries are the logical next step in this strategy,” Andersen said. “The addition of these market-leading OTC brands serves as another step for Perrigo's CSCI growth plans, expands our already robust skincare franchise and adds scale to our Eastern Europe business."

The company expects the deal to close early in the fourth quarter.