Unilever to more than double its water purification business via acquisition

SHANGHAI, LONDON and ROTTERDAM — Unilever has acquired a majority stake in the Qinyuan Group, a Chinese water purification business — marking Unilever’s largest acquisition in China for more than 10 years.



Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Qinyuan generated sales approaching €140 million for the 12-month period Dec. 31.



 “We are delighted to be making this strategic investment — a majority stake in Qinyuan — our biggest acquisition in China for more than 10 years. Unilever has been building a global water purification business with Pureit, a very effective, affordable water purification device, already present in several countries in South Asia, South East Asia, Latin America and Africa. 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,” stated Unilever CEO Paul Polman.



The Unilever Pureit purifiers and the current Qinyuan product range offer different and complementary performance and price points and will enable the combined business to offer a complete range of products.



The water purification market has been growing rapidly in China — more than 20% per annum over the last three years. Under the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, the company aims to make safe drinking water available and affordable to people across the world. Since its launch in 2005, 45 million people have gained access to safe drinking water from Pureit.