ProActiv is owned by KKR (the United States, NYSE: KKR) through its subsidiary Upfield, which acquired the brand on 2 July 2018 from Unilever, as part of a €6.83 billion deal that also included Flora, Becel and 4 others.[1] Before Upfield, ProActiv was owned by Unilever from 1999 to 2018.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Upfield — our brands, Upfield Holdings B.V. Last checked .
ProActiv is a spread containing plant sterols, compounds that reduce cholesterol absorption, and it was among the first foods in Europe permitted to carry an approved cholesterol-lowering health claim. It moved to Upfield with the rest of the spreads business.
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full KKR ownership tree →
See the full KKR brand portfolio (12) →
KKR controls 12 brands on Brandtree, 8 of them in food.
KKR has more brands in butter on Brandtree than any other owner: 7 of 51.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Breakstone's | Dairy Farmers of America | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Fleurial | Cevital Agro-Industrie | 🇩🇿 Algeria |
| Familia | Lesieur Cristal | 🇲🇦 Morocco |
| Clover | Saputo | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| Mavesa | Empresas Polar | 🇻🇪 Venezuela |
| Anchor | Lactalis | 🇫🇷 France |
| Neo Soft | Megmilk Snow Brand | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Rita | Patisen | 🇸🇳 Senegal |
KKR is a private-equity firm headquartered in New York, United States, founded in 1976. Brandtree records 12 brands under its control, and it is listed as NYSE: KKR.
KKR was founded in 1976 and effectively invented the leveraged buyout as a large-scale business, most famously with its 1988 takeover of RJR Nabisco. Its consumer holdings are held through funds rather than permanently, so brands under its control are expected to be sold within several years.
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 552 brands that began in the United Kingdom. 291 of them (53%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, ProActiv among them.
Unilever sold its spreads business to KKR, which established it as a standalone company named Upfield. Unilever had been trying to exit margarine for years as consumption declined, and the sale followed its rejection of a takeover approach from Kraft Heinz that had prompted a strategic review.
The parent company of ProActiv is KKR, a private-equity firm headquartered in the United States. ProActiv sits under KKR's subsidiary Upfield.
ProActiv originated in the United Kingdom in 1999, but it is owned today by KKR, which is headquartered in the United States. So ProActiv is a British-origin brand under American ownership.
KKR completed its acquisition of ProActiv on 2 July 2018, after announcing the deal on 15 December 2017. The deal, which also included Flora and Becel and 4 others, was valued at €6.83 billion (enterprise value).
Before KKR, ProActiv was owned by Unilever from 1999 until 2018.
Yes. As of 25 September 2026, ProActiv is still owned by KKR. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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