Zydus Wellness to acquire Heinz India for Rs 4,595 crore

GUWAHATI: Zydus Wellness, a part of the Zydus group, today announced plans to acquire Heinz India, known for its brands like Complan, Glucon D, Nycil and Sampriti Ghee.

A source of the Zydus group said that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the subsidiary of Kraft Heinz, Heinz India Private Limited, jointly with Cadila Healthcare Ltd., at a valuation of Rs 4,595 crores. According to the source, the valuation includes net working capital of Rs 40 crore, cash of Rs 15 crore and assumes no debt.

The transaction was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, subject to regulatory approvals, Zydus Wellness said in a statement.

Apart from the four iconic brands, Heinz India’s business comprises two large manufacturing facilities in Aligarh and Sitarganj and teams devoted to operations, research, sales, marketing and support. Heinz India also has a strong network of over 800 distributors and more than 20,000 wholesalers covering 29 states.

“This is an exciting time. This development offers immense opportunity to broaden our portfolio and invest in brands and products that we believe are most relevant to health-conscious consumers. It leverages our group heritage, innovation track record, combined brand offerings and capabilities to meet and exceed our consumers’ evolving health and wellness needs. This acquisition will be an ideal addition to Zydus Wellness, supporting our aspirations to grow in the consumer wellness space by providing multiple choices to consumers,” said Sharvil Patel, Chairman, Zydus Wellness Ltd.

For the four brands, Heinz India recorded revenues of about Rs 1,150 crores and EBIDTA of about Rs 225 crores for the 12 month period ending 30 June 2018. Following this acquisition, Zydus Wellness will have consolidated revenues of about Rs 1,700 crores, according to the media release.

The transaction is proposed to be financed by a mix of equity and debt. Select leading private equity firms have committed to partnering the transaction by way of equity support.

Notably, Zydus Wellness has a presence in food, nutrition and the skin care markets and owns brands like Sugar Free, EverYuth and Nutralite. This will be the second acquisition for Zydus Wellness following the acquisition of Nutralite, India’s largest selling premium healthy fat spread, in 2006.

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