Unilever's outgoing CEO Paul Polman topped Nestle by $1 bn in Horlicks bid

Under Polman, Unilever thwarted a takeover bid from US rival Kraft Heinz in 2017 and sold its spreads business to private equity firm KKR for $8.1 bn later in the year

Unilever’s departing Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman (pictured), in a major push into India that may be his last deal, agreed to pay about $1 billion more than his closest rival for GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK’s) consumer business in the country, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Anglo-Dutch conglomerate agreed to pay 3.3 billion euros ($3.8 billion) in cash and stock from its Indian subsidiary to take control of the consumer business, including malted milk drink Horlicks. Nestle SA’s offer was lower, but was all cash, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details aren’t public. One of