In its first acquisition in China in a decade, Unilever has acquired a majority stake in Chinese water purification company Qinyuan Group Co. which will double Unilever’s global water purification business. The deal positions Unilever in a sector that generated between 17 billion yuan and 18 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion – $2.9 billion) in 2013 – up 20% from 2012. China’s news agency reports that 55% of the country’s groundwater is polluted and the country is seeing high consumer demand for clean water. The sale will also enable Unilever to market its Purefit filtration systems through Qinyuan’s distribution network. Unilever’s CEO has stated that the company aims to double sales to US$110 million per year – mostly through expansion in emerging markets such as China and India.
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