Unilever to Acquire Australian Tea Business
Unilever is acquiring T2, a premium Australian tea business, for an undisclosed amount. T2 generated sales approaching A$57 million (Eur40 million) for the 12-month period ending June 30 2013. With 40 stores, T2 isAustralia’s leading tea retailer, offering the country’s largest range of premium, tea and tea wares from all around the globe.
Kevin Havelock, Unilever president for refreshment says: “T2 is a fast growing premium tea business with great potential. Unilever is the biggest tea company in the world with brands like Lipton – one of Unilever’s ‘billion-plus’ brands – available in more than 70 countries. This will allow us to bring the benefits of scale and access to new markets to the T2 business and for both businesses to share tea category expertise. This deal will also bring a premium tea business to complement our portfolio that we can leverage in a similar way to other recent Unilever acquisitions.”
Clive Stiff, Unilever Australasia chairman adds: “Our Lipton and Bushells brands are two of Australia’s oldest and best-loved tea brands and tea is a strategically important category for Unilever Australia. We know tea drinkers are increasingly looking for new and diverse tea flavours, so we are delighted to be bringing T2’s premium and exciting range into the fold. T2 is a great Australian success story – a story that we now intend to continue with Unilever.”
