Unilever in $2.7-bn deal for Korean cosmetics maker

Skincare sales in South Korea will reach $6.3 bn this year and interest in Asian country's cosmetics companies has been heating up

Unilever agreed to buy a South Korean cosmetics maker for £2.27 billion ($2.7 billion) to gain a stronger foothold in the world’s fourth-largest skincare market.
 

Unilever will buy Carver Korea, maker of AHC skincare products, from shareholders including Goldman Sachs Group and Bain Capital Private Equity, the London — and Amsterdam — based company said in a statement Monday. Carver had sales of £321 million last year.

For the Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods giant, whose brands include Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove soap, the acquisition marks a shift from other recent purchases in niche areas like organic tea and vegan