Unilever Pursues Higher Valuation Multiple by Focusing on Beauty
Unilever plans to close a valuation gap by shedding food assets and concentrating on beauty, personal care and home products. Investors view focused consumer-goods companies as deserving higher multiples, so the March deal to merge Unilever’s food business with McCormick—leaving Unilever shareholders with about a 55% stake—shifts the challenge from portfolio reshuffling to execution.