Unilever and South African investment holding company Remgro on Friday announced a 11.9 billion rand ($901 million) deal that sees Unilever trade its spreads business in southern Africa for Remgro’s stake in its South African subsidiary.

The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods maker said it would acquire Remgro’s 25.75 percent shareholding in its South African subsidiary in exchange for the spreads business in southern Africa and cash of 4.9 billion rand ($371 million).

The deal values the spreads business at 7 billion rand ($530 million), representing a multiple of 13.4 times core earnings (EBITDA).

The deal is the first step in Unilever’s exit of its shrinking spreads business, a move it promised earlier this year following an unsolicited $143 billion takeover offer from Kraft-Heinz. (Reuters)