The Brut brand is best remembered by a generation for its advertising campaign of the 70s and 80s featuring boxer Henry Cooper, who famously advised the public to "splash it all over". Kevin Keegan and the late Barry Sheene also pushed the aftershave brand, adding macho glamour to the product.
Unilever sold the US, Canadian, Central and Latin American rights to Brut for $55m (£35m) to Helen of Troy. Based in Texas, the company makes Vidal Sassoon and Scholl products under licence. Unilever retains the rights to Brut in the UK and Europe.
Unilever has already sold off various cosmetic brands, including Elizabeth Arden and its Elizabeth Taylor fragrance business.
Joint Unilever chairman Niall Fitzgerald said: "This sale is part of Unilever's Path of Growth strategy, which focuses on brands with strong leadership positions and the greatest growth potential."
Reducing the number of key food and personal care product names to 400 will result in the loss of 25,000 jobs, although the Calvin Klein and Lynx brands will, after much speculation, be retained.
Unilever announced its plan to reduce the number of brands in 1999, when it pledged to cull its range of brands from 1,600 and boost sales growth to 5.8% and margins to 17% by 2004.
So far Unilever, has sold 99 businesses including the Batchelors soup range to its New Jersey rival, Campbell Soup.
At the end of the second quarter of this year, the company bought Bestfoods, makers of Marmite and Pot Noodle in a £16bn deal. This acquisition brought the number of brands under the Unilever banner to 635.
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