Among these is DOMS Industries Limited (“DOMS”), one of India’s premier stationery and art material brands, which declared successful strategic investment to buy an equity share of 51.77% in Uniclan Healthcare Private Limited (“Uniclan”), the fast-growing manufacturer of baby diapers, baby wipes, and other baby hygiene products. On this acquisition, Uniclan would emerge as a subsidiary of DOMS. Part of the deal, the Company has acquired 71,16,080 equity shares for total consideration of ₹ 54.88 crore to be split as predominantly ₹ 28.88 crore for Uniclan for capacity expansion, debt repayment and funding working capital requirements.
The acquisition enables DOMS to expand the scope of its products and diversify its product portfolio in line with its over-all growth strategy for access to more extensive markets. Uniclan owns a world-class manufacturing facility at Jaipur, Rajasthan, with an installed capacity of around 400 million pull-up pant style baby diapers per annum, largely sold under its flagship brand “Wowper”. Sharp focus of Uniclan on advanced R&D and conformity to international quality norms have led to an increase in market acceptance and reputation for its products. The company is planning on further expanding the market by providing an extensive distribution network.
Commenting on the investment, Santosh Raveshia, Managing Director, DOMS Industries Limited stated, “We feel pleased to announce our strategic foray into the baby hygiene segment with this investment in Uniclan. Its much-applauded product portfolio and growing market presence along with its forward-looking approach just resonate perfectly with our vision for growth and diversification. This will be a major step in our long-term strategy towards exploring new sectors that improve our business portfolio and resonate well with our focused attention to children during their formative years. With innovation and delivering value across our core business segments, this expansion would strengthen our distribution network, unlocking new sales avenues and propelling us forward for success in the long run. We’re excited at the prospect of creating a successful partnership with Uniclan and see many opportunities for innovation and mutual success.”
According to Vatsal Desai, Founder and Director, Uniclan Healthcare Private Limited: “We are excited to partner with DOMS, a company that shares our commitment to the long-term creation of value. We believe with our focus on quality and innovation in products and using the DOMS distribution network in India and globally, we would be able to enhance the trajectory of growth at Uniclan and expand its reach.”. With consumer understanding and market know-how that DOMS brings to the table, we are confident that we can further lift up our brand and continue to provide quality products to our customers. Together, we look forward to setting new benchmarks in the industry and driving forward our shared vision for the future.\”\
For DOMS, this acquisition has various powerful advantages. Entering the diaper market that has an approximate value of $2 billion and grows at a compound annual growth rate of about 16%, the deal very significantly expands DOMS’ addressable target market. In the short term, Uniclan will benefit from the extensive distribution network DOMS enjoys-its strong relationships with super stockists and distributors shall allow Uniclan to expand its market reach. With this kind of long-term partnership, there is an opportunity for the Uniclan network to become a form of parallel distribution for its own products, thereby increasing both companies’ growth potential.
