Europe’s leading hygiene company Ontex hands over its subsidiary in Türkiye

Belgium-based Ontex Group, owner of several prominent hygiene brands such as Canbebe, has sold its entire business in Türkiye to its Turkish partner, Dilek Group.

According to a statement released on Wednesday on the company’s website, Ontex confirmed that the transaction includes its plant in Istanbul as well.

Ontex’s operations in Türkiye focused on the development, production, marketing, and distribution of primarily branded personal hygiene products, maintaining a strong market presence in Türkiye and neighboring regions, with approximately €90 million ($93.23 million) in sales in 2024.

‘A legacy of strong brands’

The company aimed to strengthen its focus on retail and health care brands in Europe and North America while anticipating the transaction’s completion by the third quarter of 2025, pending approval from the Turkish Competition Authority.

Laurent Nielly, president of Ontex Europe, elaborated on the agreement, saying “Ontex is very proud of its business in Türkiye and grateful for the team’s resilience and excellence in execution over the past years, thereby building on, and strengthening, a legacy of strong positions and brands.”

In 2000, Ontex acquired Astel, the manufacturer of well-known hygiene brands in Türkiye, including Canbebe diapers, Canlady and Canped. In 2010, Ontex was sold for €1.2 billion to Goldman Sachs Capital and the investment firm Texas Pacific Group.

Founded in the 1950s, Dilek Group is a Turkish distributor company of fast-moving consumer goods across Türkiye and neighboring countries. In the previous week, Dilek Group acquired Canan Cosmetics, a Turkish subsidiary of France cosmetics giant, L’oreal.