HUL in race to buy majority stake in MDH Spices; stock tanks 4%

Shares of fast-moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) were in focus on Tuesday after some reports suggested that the company is in the race to buy a majority stake in MDH Spices.
 
Hindustan Unilever Ltd is in talks with Mahashian Di Hatti Pvt. Ltd (MDH) to buy a majority stake in the maker of MDH Spices, newspaper Mint reported on March 22, 2022. MDH could be valued between Rs 10,000-15,000 crore, the report added.
 
The stock opened a tad higher at Rs 2,055 against the previous close of Rs 2,051.45. However, the stock tanked over 4 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,969.25 on BSE. The market cap of the company fell to Rs 4,63,574.36 crore.

"As per the reports, HUL is in talks to buy the majority share in MDH Spices. The stock may witness value buying at lower levels of 1880 - 1850 for the target of 2100 in near term. Investors may wait for the correction from the current levels and enter at lower levels for value gains," Dr. Ravi Singh, Vice President & Head of Research, ShareIndia told Business Today.

 Recently, the FMCG major had announced a major management rejig. The company designated two top executives to its management committee.
 
HUL appointed Madhusudhan Rao as Executive Director, Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care, replacing Priya Nair who will move into her new global role as Beauty & Wellbeing, Chief Marketing Officer. Rao, who joined HUL in 1991, is presently Executive Vice-President - Home and Hygiene, Unilever.
 
The company also announced that Deepak Subramanian will be designated as Executive Director, Home Care, and will take over from Prabha Narasimhan, who has taken the decision to quit the company to pursue an external opportunity. Subramanian is presently serving as Vice-President, Home Care, South-East Asia/ ANZ (SEAA) & Global Head, Fabric Enhancers. HE had joined HUL as a management trainee in 1995.
 
HUL posted a 16.8 per cent year-on-year rise in standalone net profit at Rs 2,243 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2021, as India's largest consumer goods maker gained market share in both urban and rural areas amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,921 crore in the year-ago period.
 
Revenue from operations rose 10.2 per cent to Rs 13,183 crore as compared to Rs 11,959 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, it said in a regulatory filing.