Colgate to buy Gaba Holding

[Basel, Switzerland] Colgate-Palmolive is buying Gaba Holding, a family-owned toothpaste manufacturer that makes premium-priced Elmex, Aronal, and Meridol toothpaste brands as well as toothbrushes, dental floss, and mouthwash. Most of the company's $280 million sales are in home market Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy. In Germany, Gaba is the No. 2 toothpaste marketer after SmithKline Beecham with a 22% share of the market but the company lacks funds to expand internationally. Colgate is expected to move Gaba's toothpaste ad budgets to Colgate's global network, WPP Group's Young & Rubicam. Separately, Germany's Henkel made two U.S. acquisitions last month. Henkel agreed to purchase Dial Corp., the maker of Dial personal care products and Purex detergent with sales of $1.3 billion, for $1.9 billion. Henkel works with Omnicom Group's DDB Worldwide, BBDO Worldwide and TBWA Worldwide. In the U.S., DDB's Los Angeles office handles Henkel's Dep and L.A. Looks. Henkel also agreed to buy Advanced Research Laboratories, marketer of the got2Be and Citre Shine hair-care brands, for $250 million.

Colgate to buy Gaba Holding

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