Hindustan Unilever Limited

Hindustan Unilever Limited is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products and other consumer staples. The company was established in India in 1931 as Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Co. Following a merger of constituent groups in 1956, it was renamed Hindustan Lever Limited. The company was renamed again in June 2007 as Hindustan Unilever Limited. Hindustan Unilever has been at the helm of a lot of controversies, such as dumping highly toxic mercury-contaminated waste in regular dumps, contaminating the land and water of Kodaikanal. The British-Dutch company also faced major flak for an advertising campaign covering the Hindu pilgrimage site at Kumbh Mela in a negative light, calling it a "place where old people get abandoned," a move that was termed racist and insensitive. In December 2018 HUL announced its acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline India's consumer business for US$3.8 billion in an all-equity merger deal with a 1:4.39 ratio.