By James A. Loyola
The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has approved the buy-out of Splash Corporation by Indian firm Wipro Enterprises Private Limited.
Philippine Competition Commission
In a statement, the PCC noted that both Splash and Wipro are involved in the manufacturing and distribution of personal care products. Wipro Enterprises, a corporate entity based in Bangalore, India, intends to acquire Splash from Ang Hortaleza Corporation.
After the acquisition, Wipro Enterprises through a wholly owned subsidiary will own the domestic and international retail personal care business of Splash Corporation.
This will include the related inventories, plant, property and equipment, intangible assets such as patents and trademarks, as well as its foreign subsidiaries.
In its review, the PCC noted that among the many products of Wipro and Splash, the relevant market with overlaps was in the manufacture and distribution of whitening lotions.
In the Commission decision approved on February 19, 2018, the Mergers and Acquisitions Office (MAO) of the PCC found that the transaction does not result in substantial lessening of competition in the said relevant market.
PCC said no competition concern was found since there is sufficient competitive constraint from other firms involved in whitening products market even after the transaction.
Splash Corporation is a Filipino company with business interests in personal care and food manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of products such as Maxi-Peel, SkinWhite lotion and Flawlessly U soap, among others, in the Philippines and in the international market.
On the other hand, Wipro Enterprises comprises of two main businesses namely 1) Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, which mainly provides personal care products, and lighting solutions and office furniture; and 2) Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, which provides hydraulic solutions for a wide range of diverse applications, precision engineered components for aerospace and defense, water solutions and wastewater treatment for industrial applications and additive manufacturing solutions.