Unilever’s mission to become a key player in the prestige sector continues. The Dutch manufacturer announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire leading clinical skin care brand Murad on Thursday. The LA-based doctor line will join REN, Kate Somerville and Dermalogica in the FMCG giant’s new prestige division. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Paul Polman, Unilever CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Murad to our portfolio of Prestige personal care brands. As an expert ‘Doctor brand’, Murad offers products in a differentiated clinical and holistic well-being segment. It has a loyal following that gives it excellent potential for expansion, and wonderfully complements the brands recently acquired. We look forward to working with Dr Murad and his team to continue to grow the brand.”

Murad’s Founder Dr Howard Murad added: “We’ve always looked for opportunities to reach more people with our message of Inclusive Health and to touch more lives with our targeted, high-performance products.  With Unilever, we can broaden our reach and significantly grow our brand while remaining faithful to the founding principles of Murad. There is a very bright path ahead and I am excited to work with Unilever to share our products with the world—together we can inspire every person that the Murad brand touches to live life beautifully.”

The brand has a strong presence in the US, a regional hub in Europe and is currently sold in 42 countries, via a combination of channels including direct sales, salons and spas and department store and perfumeries such as Sephora.