PCC okays Indian firm’s plan to buy shares in local skincare company

MANILA, Philippines – A company based in India has been given the green light to own the retail personal care business of publicly listed firm Splash Corp., a Filipino company that currently distributes popular skincare products such as Maxi-Peel and SkinWhite lotion.

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has approved the proposed acquisition by Wipro Enterprises Private Limited of shares in Splash from Ang Hortaleza Corp., it said in a statement on Thursday.

Under the competition law, mergers and acquisitions that are deemed large enough to be potentially anti-competitive have to be notified to PCC so that they could be reviewed.

Upon review, deals could be approved, blocked, or approved with certain conditions to keep the market competitive.

In this case, it would seem that the deal between Wipro and Splash has passed PCC standards.

PCC did not say how much shares were bought by Wipro. Asked for clarification, a representative from PCC said this information has been deferred since it is considered confidential.

Nevertheless, PCC said the buyout will allow Wipro to own the domestic and international retail personal care business of Splash, including property, patents and trademarks, among others.

While they have many products, PCC said Wipro and Splash overlap in the manufacture and distribution of whitening lotions.

Upon review, PCC found the transaction “does not result in substantial lessening of competition in the said relevant market.”

According to the company’s official website, Splash was founded in 1985, where it grew from a P12,000-backyard business to a P3.5 billion firm, making it one of the formidable players in the Philippine personal care industry.

On the other hand, Wipro said in its website that it has two main businesses: Wipro Consumer Care, which is engaged in personal care products, lighting solutions, and office furniture; and Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, which provides hydraulic solutions for various applications such as aerospace and defense. /kga