Sanex is owned by Colgate-Palmolive (the United States, NYSE: CL), which acquired the brand on 1 June 2011 from Unilever.[1][2] Sanex was founded in 1977 in Spain and was independent until 2011.
Sanex is a European body care brand created in Spain in 1977 and positioned around skin health rather than fragrance, with pH-balanced formulations. Colgate-Palmolive acquired it from Unilever in 2011 in an exchange that also saw Unilever take Colgate's Colombian laundry detergent business.
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
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Colgate-Palmolive bought Sanex from Unilever for about EUR 672 million. Unilever was selling because competition authorities required it to divest Sanex before it could complete its purchase of Sara Lee's personal care business, so one company's remedy became another's acquisition.
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The parent company of Sanex is Colgate-Palmolive, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
Sanex originated in Spain in 1977, but it is owned today by Colgate-Palmolive, which is headquartered in the United States. So Sanex is a Spanish-origin brand under American ownership.
Colgate-Palmolive completed its acquisition of Sanex on 1 June 2011, after announcing the deal on 27 September 2010.
Sanex was an independent company from its founding in 1977 until Colgate-Palmolive acquired it in 2011.
Yes. As of 8 September 2026, Sanex is still owned by Colgate-Palmolive. 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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