MUMBAI, INDIA — Funds advised by Convergent Finance LLP and private equity firm Samara Capital have reached agreement to acquire a 51.8% stake in Agro Tech Foods Ltd. (ATFL) from Chicago-based Conagra Brands, Inc. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ATFL, which is listed on both the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange, is engaged in the business of manufacturing, marketing and selling a wide range of food products and edible oils. The Mumbai-based company competes in the ready-to-cook snacks, ready-to-eat snacks, spreads and dips, breakfast cereal and chocolate confectionery segments. Its portfolio includes ACT II popcorn and Sundrop edible oils.
Conagra has been a controlling shareholder of ATFL since 2011. Following the transaction, ATFL said it will continue to license the ACT II brand from Conagra for use in India.
“Agro Tech Foods’ category-defining brands have been beloved household names for the past three decades, thanks to the company’s relentless focus on quality, innovation, and customer delight,” said Harsha Raghavan, managing partner at Convergent Finance. “As India’s rapidly growing consumer class expands and discretionary income levels continue to rise, we will expand ATFL’s distribution reach and product range, thereby transforming it into the country’s leading packaged and snack food platform.”
Manish Mehta, managing director and co-chief investment officer at Samara Capital, added, “We are delighted to lead the acquisition of a majority stake in ATFL. The company’s brands have high recall value with India’s consumers, and we aim to complement this hard-earned recognition with our knowledge of India’s food and consumer sectors to increase ATFL’s presence in fast-growing, high-margin categories. We intend to create a large and unique branded food platform in the country with this acquisition.”
