Norway-based Orkla Foods to buy MTR Foods for $100 mn

As reported earlier, Orkla ASA, the $8.8 bn, Oslo-based diversified conglomerate with interests ranging from branded foods to finance, will buy MTR Foods for $100 mn deal. The deal will see the exit of MTR’s current investors and private equity firms JP Morgan Partners and the Singapore-based Aquarius India Fund. Aquarius had acquired a 20% stake in MTR Foods in 2000, later followed by JP Morgan Partners in 2002, who paid Rs. 20 crores for an additional 28% stake.

JP Morgan headed the company’s nationwide rollout into ready-to-eat foods, ready-to-cook ingredients and branded spices. Four years later, all these products had established brand equity, but the going was getting increasingly difficult due to severe competition.
It has been widely reported that JP Morgan Partners forced the owner’s hand as it was seeking to liquidate what was a small-sized investment for itself. Further, with MTR Foods taking time to achieve profits an IPO exit was not feasible at the current juncture.

Read the article in DNA Money.