On 24 November 2016, Bengaluru-based Manjushree Technopack Ltd. announced its acquisition of Varahi Limited and its three plants in Noida, Baddi and Pantnagar in North India. Founded in 1971 by late HR Sanghavi, Varahi produces rigid packaging solutions for FMCG, beverages and pharmaceuticals companies with a production capacity of 20,000 MT. Already the largest producer of rigid plastic packaging in the country, with the acquisition Manjushree’s annual capacity for PET containers and preforms is now extended to 4 billion units.
Including the three Varahi plants, Manjushree now has seven manufacturing plants across the country with the eighth location in Guwahati, Assam expected to be a commercial production in January 2017. Manjushree’s existing clients include GSK, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Mondelez, PepsiCo and Reckitt Benckiser while new customers such as Dabur, SC Johnson, Perfetti Van Melle and Patanjali have taken the client base past 100.
Announcing the acquisition, Manjushree Technopack’s managing director Vimal Kedia said, “This is a significant milestone for Manjushree as it marks our first strategic investment towards industry consolidation. Varahi has a 40-year-old legacy and we were impressed by their manufacturing capabilities. With this acquisition, Manjushree gets a solid foothold in North India and cross-selling products of between Manjushree and Varahi’s customers will give us a huge positive growth. Our aim is to become a 360-degree rigid packaging solutions provider for brands across India and this gives us an impetus to serve our existing and new clients with world-class packaging solutions. We are excited to have team Varahi on board.”
Manjushree closed the financial year 2015–2016 with a turnover of Rs. 546 crore. The acquisition and expansion plans are expected to take the company’s annual turnover to Rs. 800 crore. Kedia says, “The acquisition offered us an inorganic growth option that will result in a 40% increase in our top line and will improve our bottom line too. By end of this fiscal, we would be achieving Rs. 800 crore turnover, as against Rs. 575 crore estimated earlier. The second largest player in the segment has a turnover not more than Rs. 500 crore, thereby helping us to increase the gap between the two. Our entire machinery is imported from Japan and Canada, and hence we compete on quality and variety with the top players in the world.”
Manjushree will also gain access to Varahi’s intellectual property, which combined with its own designs and patents will add up to more than 100 registered designs and patents; this will allow Manjushree to produce containers from 5 ml to 20 L, in over 1,000 different shapes, sizes and designs.
