SSL, owner of the Durex and Scholl brands, is expected to take control of a Russian condom-maker in the next few days as it seeks to extend its global reach.

The deal, a possible precursor to full ownership of BLBV next year, would make Russia SSL’s second-biggest market. The company sold 400m condoms to the country in the last six months of 2008, about 20 per cent of its total production.