asked what would be the fate of the 3800odd employees of gskch after the merger the management of indias leading fastmoving consumer goods company said it is a growing business and always in need of talent however the first focus will be the integration of the two businesses the maker of lipton tea and kwality walls ice cream employs around 18000 peoplewhen the manpower related question was posed to gsk david redfern chief strategy officer of gsk said hul has said today they expect some synergies exactly where they will have to decide they are buying assets including the people of gsk consumer healthcare and there will be a lot of people they would want to retain they want to have the capability we have in manufacturing rd and distribution i am sure they will be some overlaps in some places but that is for hul to work out during the next year as part of the deal there are no clauses that talk about retentionwhat holds promise of growth for horlicks is that it enters a house where its new indian parent hul has grown 10 in the last ten year even with high penetration categories like soaps and detergents it is a leader in tea soups ice cream but hul still did not have the size which horlicks brings to the tablesrinivas phatak cfo hul termed it as a once in a lifetime opportunity as the business is not only a number one player by sales rs 4200 crore in its category in the largest market globally but also a profitable business with ebitda margins of 20 it gives us a broad portfolio across products formats and flavours its a huge opportunity for market development with overall penetration being 24 and a rural penetration at 14 moreover the premium end of the portfolio is growing at double digits the deal give a 3x boost to our direct coverage said phatakfollowing the merger which is expected to take a year to complete parent unilevers holding in hul will come down from 672 to 619 while gsk plc will get 57 shareholding in hul in due course the company will sell the stakein addition and this could have also helped unilever clinch the deal from under nestles nose hul enters into a 5year contract to distribute gsks overthecounter products like crocin sensodyne and enogsk plc will also sell 82 stake in gsk bangladesh and healthcare brand rights in other territories to unilever for expected cash proceeds of british pounds 566 milliongsk has sold the consumer business to prioritize on its pharmaceuticals business and to be able to fund the novartis stake in its consumer healthcare joint venture with novartis as also pay off its debts bp 22 bn emma walmsley ceo gsk said horlicks has made a significant contribution to gsk and to the health of consumers across india for many decades and we believe unilever is well placed to maximise its future potential proceeds from this transaction