Unilever to acquire green-products company Seventh Generation

Consumer products giant Unilever is making a push into green household products by acquiring Seventh Generation, a maker of plant-based detergents and cleaners.

The deal, announced Monday, likely extinguishes the hopes of Honest Co., the Santa Monica start-up that had also reportedly been in preliminary talks with Unilever regarding a sale. Both Honest and Vermont-based Seventh Generation specialize in environmentally friendly products, including detergent, diapers and tampons.

It is the second headline-making deal for Unilever this summer. In July, the London company said it was spending $1 billion to acquire Los Angeles start-up Dollar Shave Club, a subscription service for razors and grooming products.

A sale price was not disclosed, but the Wall Street Journal said a source pegged it at about $700 million. That could have been significantly cheaper than the cost of acquiring Honest, which was valued at $1.7 billion in a fundraising round last year.

Seventh Generation pulled in sales of more than $200 million last year, Unilever said. Honest has annual sales of $300 million.

Nitin Paranjpe, president of Unilever’s home-care business, said in a statement that Seventh Generation has “long been a disruptor” in the U.S.

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