French firm Groupe Lactalis' Indian unit to buy Prabhat Dairy for Rs 1,700 crore; firm to focus on cattle feed business after sale

Mumbai: Prabhat Dairy on Monday said it will be selling its flagship dairy business for Rs 1,700 crore to French multinational Groupe Lactalis. In an official statement released here, Prabhat said it will be sharing a “substantial proportion” of the sale proceeds with its shareholders and will focus on the cattle feed business after the close of the transaction. The company has entered into definitive agreements with Tirumala Milk Products, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lactalis, for the Rs 1,700-crore sale, said the statement. [caption id=“attachment_2011611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative Image. Reuters[/caption] The transaction involves sale of the dairy business undertaking of Prabhat Dairy by way of slump sale on a going-concern basis, as well as the sale of 100 percent shareholding in Sunfresh Agro Industries, a subsidiary of Prabhat Dairy, via a share purchase agreement, it said. “The association with Lactalis, one of the world’s largest dairy players, will offer this business a strong platform for accelerated growth momentum in becoming one of the largest private dairy businesses in India,” Vivek Nirmal, Joint Managing Director, Prabhat Dairy, was quoted as saying in the statement. He said in the last 20 years, Prabhat built a world-class integrated milk and dairy products company, with strong supply partnership with over 1,00,000 farmers and two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, including nod from the Competition Commission of India, the statement said. Promoters Sarangdhar Ramchandra Nirmal, Vivek Nirmal and Nidhi Nirmal will continue to be associated with the business for the next two years, the statement said.     To keep watching India’s No. 1 English Business News Channel – CNBC-TV18, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family Pack (inclusive of 24 channels), available for Rs. 35/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 4/- per day. To keep watching the Leader in Global Market & Business News – CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family HD Pack (inclusive of 25 channels), available for Rs. 50/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 1/- per day.