ITC set to acquire spice major Sunrise Foods for estimated Rs 2,000 crore

Diversified conglomerate ITC is set to make its biggest acquisition — Sunrise Foods. ITC on Sunday said it had entered into an agreement with the spices major to acquire a 100 per cent stake in the company.

The share-purchase agreement was completed after lockdown was enforced and the final deal is likely to be signed soon. ITC didn’t comment on the deal size, but sources estimated it at close to Rs 2,000 crore. 

Sunrise Foods clocked a turnover of around Rs 600 crore last year. However, there would be a premium on the 70-year Sunrise brand. 

 

While ITC, via its Aashirvaad brand, operates in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sunrise Foods, which sells its products under the Sunrise brand, has an extensive presence across east India, where it is the market leader, and also operates in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi National Capital Region, Rajasthan, and Bengaluru. It also sells its products in Bangladesh and Nepal.

 

Sunrise’s plants are located in Kolkata, Agra, Bikaner, and Jaipur. “Over the years, the brand (Sunrise) has built a loyal consumer franchise, anchored on a differentiated product portfolio tailored to regional tastes and preferences, both in the basic and blended spice segments,” ITC said.

 

According to ITC, the proposed acquisition is aligned with its strategy to rapidly scale up its FMCG businesses in a profitable manner, leveraging consumer insights, the distribution network, agri-commodity sourcing, cuisine knowledge, rural linkages, and packaging know-how. The major acquisition move comes a year after Sanjiv Puri became chairman of the company. Mayank Bhardwaj, CEO & MD of Sunrise, said: “We are confident that in passing our legacy to ITC, Sunrise will achieve even greater heights of success.”