Kopran’s Smyle up for sale, but few seem interested

NEW DELHI: Mumbai-based pharmaceuticals company Kopran is learnt to be scouting for potential buyers for its Smyle range of over-the-counter healthcare products. Even as the company emphatically denied any such plan, industry sources said Kopran has been sending feelers to several prospective FMCG companies operating in the OTC healthcare segment. Sources indicate that Smyle, a slow mover in the category it operates in, has been up for sale for a while now.

Kopran MD Surendra Somani, however, denied any such move. “This news is absolutely wrong,” he said in response to an email query by ET. However, the head of a leading FMCG player operating in the OTC segment told ET, “Kopran approached us with an offer to buy out the Smyle range two years ago as well. However, we did not look at it closely as it was not a strategic fit.”

The head of another FMCG and healthcare major confirmed the move: “The Smyle brand is available and we may even look at it as a potential buy.”

The Smyle portfolio, best known for the mouth ulcer gel, also includes herbal toothpaste, nasal inhalers, vapour rub, throat lozenges, prickly heat powder & regular talcum powder and pain balm. However, apart from mouth ulcer gel, none of the products have a strong brand equity.

The Baby Smyle range of infant care products, launched about five years ago with the objective of taking away share from market leader Johnson & Johnson, has not made any significant impact. Smyle has also not managed to dent territories occupied by other baby care players such as Wipro, Dabur, Emami and Doy. Dabur, for example, has a strong equity in baby oil and janam ghutti segments.

Kopran, which had initiated a financial restructuring last fiscal to recast its debt, reported losses of Rs 29.25 crore for the full year ended March 2007, compared to Rs 4.2 crore the previous year. Sales, too, declined to Rs 103.42 crore, against Rs 128.32 crore in the previous year.