Varun Beverages buys two more PepsiCo bottling units

PepsiCo India’s largest bottling partner, Varun Beverages, has acquired two more production units in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. The firm, among the top three bottling partners for PepsiCo globally, acquired the rights from SMV Beverages Private Limited. SMV is owned by S K Jaipuria, brother of Varun Beverages’ promoter, Ravi Jaipuria. 

After the deal, Varun Beverages now operates 22 bottling units for the Cola major – 18 in India and four in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco and Zambia. While, the size of the deal is not traceable at the moment, according to Raj Gandhi, chief financial officer, RJ Corp., now VB is in charge of production and distribution of 47 percent of the total PepsiCo India beverage products in India. According to Upendra Nath Sharma, partner, J Sagar Associates, who advised PepsiCo India, the deal was conceived some two months ago.

Currently, Varun Beverages operates in 18 states and two union territories with plants in Panipath (Haryana), Phillaur (Punjab), Bhiwadi and Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Kosi, Bazpur, Jainpur and Satharia, Guwahati (Assam), Kolkata (West Bengal) and Goa. During the calendar year 2016, it posted Rs 3,852 crore as consolidated sales and Rs 160 crore net profit.