Unilever share price: Group snaps up US cleaning products company

Unilever (LON:ULVR) has snapped up US cleaning products group The Laundress, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant has said. The move comes with the London-listed company looking to expand its portfolio in the top end of the home care market.

Unilever’s share price has surged in London this morning, having gained 1.36 percent to 3,994.50p as of 09:54 GMT. The stock is outperforming the broader market rally with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.99 percent higher at 6,813.73 points. The group’s shares have added almost one percent to their value over the past year, as compared with more than an 11-percent dip in the Footsie.

Unilever buys The Laundress

Unilever announced in a statement yesterday that it had acquired New York-based The Laundress, an eco-friendly line of detergent, fabric care, and home cleaning products. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

“With its line of beautifully crafted eco-friendly products and fast-growing following in the US and China, particularly among millennials, The Laundress is a strong addition to our portfolio of leading Home Care brands,” Kees Kruythoff, President of Unilever’s Home Care business, commented in the statement.

The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant said that The Laundress will continue to operate from their New York City headquarters with the co-founders remaining in place to lead the business.

Analysts on FTSE 100 group

UBS reaffirmed Unilever as a ‘neutral’ last week, while JPMorgan Chase & Co continues to see the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant as an ‘underweight’. According to MarketBeat, the blue-chip group currently has a consensus ‘hold’ rating and an average price target of 4,317.33p.

Unilever is scheduled to update investors on its full-year performance on Thursday.

As of 10:13 GMT, Tuesday, 29 January, Unilever plc share price is 3,994.50p.