Ruchi Soya has entered into an agreement with Patanjali Ayurved Limited (PAL) to acquire the latter’s food retail business undertaking which consists of manufacturing, packaging, labelling and retail trading of certain food products, along with manufacturing plants located at Padartha, Haridwar, and Newasa, Maharashtra, subject to approval of shareholders and other authorities.
The amount of consideration for the acquisition is ₹690 crore on a slump sale basis and the indicative time period for completion of the acquisition is July 15, 2022. The name of Ruchi Soya will be changed to Patanjali Foods post-acquisition.
Ruchi Soya said that its board has decided to change the name of company from “ Ruchi Soya Industries Limited” to “Patanjali Foods Limited” subject to statutory and regulatory approvals. Shares of Ruchi Soya were up 3% at ₹1,116 in afternoon trade.
“The transaction shall consist of transfer of employees, assets (excluding Patanjali’s brand, trademarks, designs and copyrights), current assets (excluding debtors, vehicles, cash and bank balance) contracts, licenses and permits, distribution network, customers related to the Food Retail Business Undertaking of Patanjali Ayurved,” the company informed in an exchange filing on Wednesday.
In 2019, yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali acquired Ruchi Soya through an insolvency process. In December 2017, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had ordered the start of insolvency proceedings against Ruchi Soya on application of Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank.
The edible oil major had came out with its follow-on public offer (FPO) in April this year to meet market regulator Sebi’s minimum public shareholding norm of 25% in a listed entity.
