GSK to sell Horlicks; Nestle, other food groups likely suitors

Agencies
March 28, 2018

London/New York, Mar 28: Food giants Nestle , Kraft Heinz and Unilever are expected to bid for GlaxoSmithKline`s Horlicks health nutrition business, which could fetch more than $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

GSK has started a strategic review of Horlicks - a malt-based drink brand popular in India – and some of its smaller products, after buying Novartis out of their consumer healthcare venture for $13 billion on Tuesday.

The main asset on the block is GSK`s 72.5 percent stake in its Indian subsidiary GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare . The sources said the stake was worth $3.1 billion at current market prices but GSK wanted a premium in any sale.

They estimated the consumer health nutrition business, which also has smaller operations in Nigeria and Bangladesh, could fetch more than $4 billion.

Nestle, the world`s biggest packaged food company, has previously told GSK privately of its interest in Horlicks on several occasions, the people said.

Nestle already owns the malt drink Milo, but it is not a big-seller in India. The Swiss company declined to comment.

Unilever, the world`s largest tea company, and Kraft Heinz, which sells the powdered drinks Crystal Light and Kool-Aid, also declined to comment.

Horlicks is more than 140 years old with origins dating back to 1873, when two British-born men, James and William Horlick, first founded a company in Chicago to manufacture the drink. It was introduced to India by Indian soldiers who had fought with the British Army in the First World War.

Associated British Foods , which owns the malt drink brand Ovaltine, could look at the business to scale up in a key emerging market, the sources said, although the size of the GSK business could be a deterrent.

An ABF spokesman declined to comment.

The Indian business has an enterprise value of about 29 times core earnings, said one of the sources, meaning any deal premium will value it well above what many packaged food and drink brands fetch. The valuation is inflated by the high growth rates seen in the Indian market.

Nestle and Unilever could purchase the asset through their local Indian subsidiaries, Nestle India or Hindustan Unilever .

Other potential suitors might include Coca-Cola , PepsiCo , Suntory, Mondelez International and JAB, the coffee business owner that recently agreed to buy Dr Pepper Snapple, one of the sources said.

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News Network
February 27,2020

New Delhi, Feb 27: An Indian Air Force aircraft on Thursday evacuated 76 Indians and 36 foreign nationals from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan.

The C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft was sent to Wuhan on Wednesday and it carried 15 tonnes of medical supplies for coronavirus-affected people in China.

On its return, the aircraft brought back 112 people, including 23 citizens from Bangladesh, six from China, two each from Myanmar and the Maldives and one each from South Africa, the US and Madagascar.

Earlier, India had evacuated around 650 Indians from Wuhan in two Air India flights.

“In all 723 Indian nationals and 43 foreign nationals have been evacuated from Wuhan, China, in these three flights,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

On the medical supplies delivered by India to China, the MEA said they would help augment the country’s efforts to control the coronavirus outbreak which had been declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation.

“The assistance is also a mark of friendship and solidarity from the people of India towards the people of China as the two countries also celebrate 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year,” it said.

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News Network
March 6,2020

Beijing, Mar 6: World health officials have warned that countries are not taking the coronavirus crisis seriously enough, as outbreaks surged across Europe and in the United States where medical workers sounded warnings over a "disturbing" lack of hospital preparedness.

The World Health Organization warned Thursday that a "long list" of countries were not showing "the level of political commitment" needed to "match the level of the threat we all face".

"This is not a drill," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

"This epidemic is a threat for every country, rich and poor."

Tedros called on the heads of government in every country to take charge of the response and "coordinate all sectors", rather than leaving it to health ministries.

What is needed, he said, is "aggressive preparedness."

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News Network
February 4,2020

New Delhi, Feb 4: Senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday accused Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party of not implementing the central government's schemes in the national capital.

Addressing an election rally in Moti Bagh, he also sought to allay fears over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), assuring the gathering that the legislation will not take away anyone's citizenship.

Singh alleged that the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government did not do anything in the last five years.

The AAP had promised to add 5,000 buses to the fleet of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), but instead the number has come down by 1,000, he claimed.

The Union minister said the AAP dispensation did not implement central schemes in Delhi fearing that the popularity of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government will grow among Delhiites.

Pension schemes and the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, are some of those that the Kejriwal government did not allow to be implemented in Delhi.

On the anti-CAA protests, Singh said that the opposition parties have been spreading "lies" about amended citizenship law and the National Population Register (NPR).

"The CAA will not take away anyone's citizenship. The opposition parties are spreading lies about the CAA. There should be no such politics over this. Some people are trying to write the history of the country with the ink of hatred," he said.

The culture of India is such that it considers the entire world one family, he said.

Delhi goes to polls on February 8. The results will be declared on February 11.

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