Stating that India as a market is worth investing in and growing, former Unilever CEO Paul Polman on Wednesday said the Rs 31,700 crore deal with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is a good strategic fit for Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India's largest consumer goods player.

Polman credited HUL chairman and managing director Sanjiv Mehta for the GSK deal and expressed confidence that the acquired brands would become more successful.

"It cost me a little bit of money, but I also have so much confidence in our people in HUL that they have consistently delivered and over-delivered the results. They will make this brand more successful than its previous owners.

And GSK fits with our food business," Polman said on the sidelines of the annual Nasscom leadership summit.

In what was his last deal, Polman had finalised the acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) consumer business in the country for Rs 31,700 crore in December 2018.

Unilever owns over 67 percent in HUL which had reported sales of Rs 34,619 crore in FY18, while the parent, present in over 190 countries, had an annual turnover of 53.7 billion euros in 2017.

Polman who was at the helm of Unilever for almost a decade has retired in December 2018.