Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali denies placing Rs 9,000 crore bid for Ruchi Soya; will still evaluate stressed target

Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved has denied placing a Rs 9,000 crore bid for debt-laden Ruchi Soya Industries, said a media report. Patanjali, however, is keen on acquiring the cooking oil and soya foods maker, to tap idle capacities at the latter’s factories. “After examining the company’s vitals and balance sheet, the value of the deal should be at most between Rs 1,800-2,000 crore,” Patanjali spokesperson SK Tijarawala was quoted as saying by The Economic Times. [caption id=“attachment_4446443” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] On Tuesday, shares of Ruchi Soya climbed over five percent amid reports that Patanjali Ayurved had joined the race to acquire the distressed company. Last week, The Hindu Business Line reported that Patanjali Ayurved had placed a Rs 9,000 crore bid to acquire Ruchi Soya Industries, which has been admitted into the insolvency process governed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The report said that over 26 companies expressed their interest in acquiring Ruchi Soya. The bid placed by Patanjali could be the highest, the report added. In March, it was reported that Godrej Agrovet Ltd was planning to place a bid for Ruchi Soya’s palm oil business. Godrej, reportedly not interested in Ruchi Soya’s other businesses, could tie up with others keen on those businesses, Mint said. Commodities trader Sakuma Exports had submitted an expression of interest (EoI) to acquire Ruchi Soya in February. The proposed acquisition would allow the Mumbai-traded Sakuma enter the retail market using Ruchi Soya’s existing distribution network, Sakuma MD Saurabh Malhotra had said. Sakuma Exports trades in agricultural commodities like sugar, corn, cotton and edible oils. Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation, the world’s largest oil palm planter by land holdings, has also expressed its interest in Ruchi Soya. It must be mentioned here that in September 2017, Ruchi Soya had announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Patanjali for an exclusive sales and distribution arrangement for Patanjali’s edible oils. With inputs from Reuters