Rasna to buy Bangla firm

Soft drink concentrate maker Rasna is close to acquiring a distribution company in Bangladesh.

Rasna executives, however, did not disclose the name of the target company and the deal size. Market sources suggested that Rasna could pay about Rs 40 crore.

The Ahmedabad-based company has already appointed a merchant banker for the deal.

The company is also in talks to acquire a distribution company in South Africa.

"I cannot reveal the name of the companies because of the confidentiality agreements," Managing Director Piruz Khambatta told Business Standard, while confirming the development.

The company wants to control distribution channels in the overseas markets where it has presence.

"Though we cannot comment on specific acquisition opportunities we are pursuing in other countries, we can tell you that we are definitely looking at inorganic growth through mergers and acquisitions, especially because we are today one of the largest soft drink mix manufacturers in the world and want to market our products in developing countries," he said.

Khambatta said Rasna will benefit immensely through the Bangladesh acquisition as it will help the company to work closely with local teams to expand the market.

"We are also looking to acquire manufacturing companies as we have the manufacturing strength and strong research and development to adapt our products to local requirements. What we want to do is to control local distribution."

"We have the largest range of soft drink concentrates today with the highest number of flavours. We have created a market revolution abroad with the introduction of a non-sugar based, cost-effective, low-calorie product that has been a runaway success," Khambatta said.

Rasna is the country's largest brand in the soft drink concentrate market with 93% share. It sells 3 billion glasses of concentrate a year through 1.4 million outlets. In addition, it has offices in Bangladesh and Dubai.