VKL plans acquisitions with private equity funding

The news follows shortly after VKL's pepper processing plant in Vietnam made its first shipments in December 2007. The plant, which is close to the biggest pepper-growing area in the world, is said to have made VKL the only pepper processor able to supply steam-sterilized products shipping from the major pepper-producing countries. Steam sterilisation is preferred to chemical ethylene oxide sterilisation and irradiation, and indeed is the required method for products like pepper in Europe. VKL, which is part of the Kanji Moorarji Group, said this week that the Argonaut funding will enable it to strengthen manufacturing capability even more, and look into making new acquisitions both in India and overseas. It also plans to to expand its global sales and marketing for private label business VKL was not able to reveal details of the level of investment it has received to FoodNavigator.com. Argonaut, however, is know to have a fund of US$3.5bn at its disposal. Moreover, VKL managing director Ajay Mariwala hinted that the company has plans to put it the funding to use quickly. "Rapid near-term inorganic growth is definitely on the cards," he said. In addition to the Vietnam business, which was incorporated in 2006, VKL also has wholly-owned subsidiaries in Germany and the US. As for Argonaut's interest, managing director Anil Khatod paid tribute to VKL's origin-based global delivery model. "The food processing industry in India is largely in the unorganised sector," he said. "This offers a player with VKL's strengths an excellent opportunity to aggressively grow market share in their traditional as well as new market segments." The new investment is actually a series B investment. An earlier injection of funds from UTI Venture Fund in 2006 provided the means for the facility in Vietnam to be established. In addition, it allowed VKL to snap up Mumbai flavours and fragrance player Beeta Chemicals - and with it a raft of intellectual property. VKL supplies spices, seasonings, flavours and fragrances to fast food, snack food, processed food, ready-to-eat and other companies in the food sector. It says it counts a number of Fortune 500 companies amounts its client base, which spans 40 countries. Europe accounts for 32 per cent of its total pepper exports, but VKL expects this proportion to increase as the Vietnam plant is geared to fully meeting Europe's quality and sterilisation standards for pepper. The seasonings and flavours and fragrances and private-label strings to the business are relatively recent, having been inaugurated in the last three years.