Peru
Key Facts
—Transaction Alicorp Colombia S.A.S. and Alicorp Ecuador S.A. purchased 100% of Unilever’s home-care assets in Colombia and Ecuador in two separate transactions.
—Price Alicorp’s Colombia country manager disclosed a figure of ‘more than US$158 million’ to La Republica on 3 August 2026, the first time any amount has been made public.
—Operational Control Alicorp assumed direct operation of the Colombian business on 1 August 2026, including the Palmira plant, brands, and approximately 200 employees.
—Brands The acquired portfolio includes Fab, 3D, and Aromatel in Colombia, and the Deja brand in Ecuador.
—Strategic Context The acquisition transforms Alicorp from an exporter into a manufacturer in Colombia, adding a 134,000-tonne capacity plant and instant scale.
Alicorp, the Peruvian consumer-goods giant, has completed its takeover of Unilever’s home-care business in Colombia, assuming direct operational control on 1 August 2026. A figure surfaced for the first time today, six months after the deal was signed: an investment of more than US$158 million, according to Alicorp’s country manager for Colombia. Neither company has ever confirmed a purchase price.
The Price Surfaces, Six Months After Signing
The figure of ‘more than US$158 million’ was stated by Juan Felipe Isaza, Alicorp’s country manager for Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean, in an interview with Bogotá-based financial daily La Republica published on 3 August 2026. Isaza characterized the amount as ‘an investment of more than US$158 million.’ Neither Unilever nor Alicorp had previously disclosed any financial terms. Unilever’s January 2026 press release explicitly said terms were ‘undisclosed,’ and Alicorp’s filing with Peru’s securities regulator, the SMV, contained no amount.
The disclosure carries a degree of ambiguity. Isaza is the Colombia country manager and was answering a question about the Colombian operation, yet the overall deal spans two countries. La Republica itself published two different figures: US$158 million in the headline and body, and ‘more than US$160 million’ in its standfirst, where it describes the investment the operation will require. Both are Alicorp-side figures, not a confirmed deal value. The Rio Times is citing the US$158 million figure as primary while noting the outlet’s own variant. It is unclear whether the sum covers Colombia alone or both Colombia and Ecuador. At the spot rate of 3.3788 soles per dollar on 3 August, US$158 million equates to approximately S/534 million.
Financing details have not been disclosed. The transaction is neither characterized as an enterprise value nor an equity value by any source. It is the investment figure Alicorp’s executive attached to the Colombian operation.
What Alicorp Bought: Plants, Brands, and People
The deal, announced by Unilever on 28 January 2026, involves two separate asset purchases: one from Unilever Andina Colombia Ltda, bought by Alicorp Colombia S.A.S., and one from Unilever Andina Ecuador S.A., bought by Alicorp Ecuador S.A. It is not a share purchase of a single company.
In Colombia, the assets include a manufacturing plant in Palmira, in the Valle del Cauca department, with a capacity of roughly 134,000 tonnes per year. The Fab brand alone accounts for approximately 40 percent of that capacity. Production will initially serve the Colombian domestic market. The brand portfolio in Colombia includes Fab, 3D, Aromatel, Coco Varela, Lavomatic, and Vel Rosita, among eight to ten brands in total. In Ecuador, the key brand is Deja.
Alicorp also absorbed approximately 200 Unilever employees. Combined with Alicorp’s existing 30-person operation in Colombia, the headcount now stands at about 230. Isaza told La Republica he expects that number to double in the medium term. ‘From 1 August we assume the operation directly,’ Isaza said. ‘FAB will continue to be one of our main brands.’
Strategic Logic: Why Unilever Sold, What Alicorp Gains
For Unilever, the divestment fits squarely within the Growth Action Plan, the strategy introduced in October 2023 by then chief executive Hein Schumacher and now being accelerated by Fernando Fernandez, who took over as CEO on 1 March 2025. The Anglo-Dutch giant is pruning its portfolio to focus on fewer, bigger, and more scalable brands, with a target of generating roughly 66 percent of sales from beauty, wellbeing, and personal care, up from about 52 percent today. Local detergent brands in two mid-size Andean markets are precisely the kind of assets the plan sheds. Unilever has completed or announced ten transactions since the start of 2025, including the sales of Graze, Conimex, and The Vegetarian Butcher, and a March 2026 agreement to combine its Foods business with McCormick.
Reginaldo Ecclissato, President of 1 Unilever Markets, said the brands ‘have a long-standing heritage and play a meaningful role in the daily lives of consumers across Colombia and Ecuador,’ adding that the decision ‘aligns with our ambition to sharpen our portfolio.’ Renato Banhara, Unilever’s Andean region manager, noted the brands ‘have accompanied households for decades.’
For Alicorp, the acquisition delivers instant manufacturing scale in a market where it previously operated only as an exporter and marketer with 30 people. It now owns a 134,000-tonne plant and a portfolio of incumbent brands. The move builds on Alicorp’s transformation into a regional home and personal care player, a pillar it established with the US$490.5 million purchase of Intradevco in 2019. That deal, which closed the same day it was announced on 31 January 2019, brought brands like Sapolio, Aval, and Dento into the fold. The Unilever acquisition is roughly one-third the size of Intradevco and represents about 7 to 8 percent of Alicorp’s roughly US$2 billion market capitalization.
Regulatory Path and the Ecuador Question
In Colombia, the transaction required clearance from the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio, or SIC. No approval resolution or date is publicly available, but the 1 August handover implies Colombian regulatory clearance has been secured. In Ecuador, the Superintendencia de Competencia Economica, or SCE, is the relevant authority. The status of Ecuadorian closing remains unconfirmed. As a point of precedent, the SCE cleared Alicorp’s 2025 purchase of Jabonería Wilson with conditions.
The deal is entirely separate from another major Alicorp acquisition: the 4 March 2026 agreement to buy the operating companies of Flora Food Group, the KKR-owned business formerly known as Upfield that Unilever sold in 2018, across Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic. That transaction, which involves brands like La Danesa, Rama, Dorina, and Bonella, remains pending regulatory approval. Isaza said on 3 August that the Flora deal ‘continues in the approval process with the authorities’ and that a definition is expected ‘toward the end of this year.’ No price has ever been disclosed for the Flora acquisition. Confusing the two deals – or attaching the US$158 million figure to margarine brands – would be incorrect.
Financial Context: Where Alicorp Stands
Alicorp reported second-quarter 2026 results around 24-25 July, posting consolidated sales of S/3,155 million (approximately US$934 million), up 10.2 percent year on year. Adjusted EBITDA reached S/470 million (US$139 million), a 14.9 percent margin. International sales jumped 58.7 percent to S/278 million (US$82 million), driven by the earlier acquisitions of Jabonería Wilson and Inka Crops. The Unilever brands are not reflected in any of these figures; the 1 August closing means their first contribution will appear in third-quarter 2026 results.
Fitch Ratings projects that Alicorp’s net leverage will hold near 2.5 times EBITDA over the next two years, after a slight rise in 2026, according to a report cited by Peruvian daily El Comercio in April 2026. Sandra Guedes, an associate at the Fitch affiliate Apoyo & Asociados, told the same paper she did not expect debt or leverage levels to increase, given that the regulatory resolutions on the Unilever and Flora purchases were still pending. Alicorp remains controlled by Grupo Romero, which holds approximately 64 percent of the company through Inversiones Piuranas after a tender offer that completed in August 2023. The US$158 million figure represents about 17 percent of a single quarter’s sales.
Competitors in the Colombian home-care market include Procter & Gamble, with brands like Ariel, Ace, and Magia Blanca, as well as Colgate-Palmolive, Clorox, and local players such as Grupo Familia, now part of Essity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Alicorp buy from Unilever?
Alicorp purchased 100% of Unilever’s home-care assets in Colombia and Ecuador through two separate transactions. The Colombian assets include a manufacturing plant in Palmira, brands such as Fab, 3D, and Aromatel, and approximately 200 employees. In Ecuador, the key brand is Deja.
How much did Alicorp pay for Unilever's home-care business?
Alicorp’s Colombia country manager, Juan Felipe Isaza, disclosed a figure of ‘more than US$158 million’ in an interview with La Republica on 3 August 2026. Neither Unilever nor Alicorp had previously disclosed any financial terms. It is ambiguous whether the figure covers Colombia alone or both Colombia and Ecuador.
When will the Unilever brands appear in Alicorp's financial results?
Alicorp assumed operational control on 1 August 2026, after the close of the second quarter. The acquired brands will make their first financial contribution in Alicorp’s third-quarter 2026 results.
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Connected Coverage
Sources: Juan Felipe Isaza; La Republica.
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