Alberto Culver Company will be acquired by Unilever for approximately $3.7 billion in cash.

Unilever’s CEO Paul Polman said, “We are delighted to be acquiring Alberto Culver. Their people have done an excellent job of building an impressive range of brands such as TRESemmé, VO5, Nexxus, St. Ives and Simple. These will complement Unilever’s existing portfolio of iconic brands like Dove, Clear and Sunsilk in hair care and Pond’s and Vaseline in skin and will help build on our strong global positions in both the hair care and skin care categories.”

Already one of the largest hair conditioning companies in the world, this acquisition will make the company solely the leading company in the “hair conditioning” industry. They will also be one of the top 3 companies in styling and shampoo.

Shampoo, conditioner and styling is an industry that is considered to be growing, and the acquisition of Alberto Culver helps solidify Unilever’s position among the leaders.

Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch multinational corporation which has many competitors such as Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, S.C. Johnson & Son, and Kraft Foods amoung others. The company was founded in 1930 and is responsible for many common name brands, including:
Dove, Hellman’s, Knorr, Axe, Phase, Saga, and more.

The company they will be acquiring, Alberto-Culver is an American corporation known for international sales. They are known for hair care and skin care products such as VO5, Andrew Collinge, TRESemme, Nexxus and a lot more.

Unilever will pay $37.50 per share in cash for Alberto Culver, which is a 19% premium over what the stock was trading for at the close of the market on Friday.