Berger Paints eyes acquisition

Berger Paints India is looking at a possible acquisition of a specialty decorative paint maker in South Asia, the company's chairman Kuldip Singh Dhingra said here today, without ruling out the possibility of a domestic purchase.

“We have been in talks for the last 7-8 months, and we are interested. The board will be appraised of the situation later today. Money is not a problem, we have the means now,” Dhingra said on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting. However, he refused to divulge the capacity of the proposed acquisition or its value. He added that consultancy major Ernst and Young will advise his company on the deal. Berger Paints India already has an international presence through subsidiary firms in Nepal, Poland and Russia.

The company intends to spend between Rs 250-300 crore on capacity expansion over the next five years to double its production to about 5,00,000 tonnes per annum. It has acquired 48 acres of land at Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh to set up a 150,000 kilolitres per annum plant with an investment of about Rs 125 crore.

“We are looking at it seriously. About 20 acres is already in possession with us. The proposed plant is likely to have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes per annum with an investment of at least Rs 50 crore,” Berger Paints India managing director Subir Bose said. Currently, the company has two manufacturing facilities in West Bengal and one each in Gujarat, Pondicherry, Goa, Jammu and Uttar Pradesh.

Incidentally, other paint makers including Akzo Nobel, Asian Paints and Kansai Nerolac plan to expand their capacity to meet growing demand in the country. “We expect between 18-20 per cent weighted average growth in the next five years. Demand has been fairly good and things are looking positive,” Bose added.