Patanjali eyes renewed growth with Ruchi Soya acquisition

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
May 2, 2019

Ayurvedic fast moving consumer goods brand Patanjali has been given the go ahead for its Ruchi Soya acquisition which could help the business to pick up its stagnating growth.

Patanjali has acquired the edible oil maker Ruchi Soya for a Rs 4,325 crore ($650.1 million) bid after months of negotiations. This is Patanjali’s first large acquisition and Ruchi Soya, although debt-ridden, owns many manufacturing plants in the country and owns large brands including Ruchi Star, Ruchi Gold, Mahakosh, and Nutrela. 

Ruchi Soya has a total debt of Rs 9,345 crore owed to a number of creditors including State Bank of India, Central Bank, the Punjab National Bank, and Standard Chartered. The business was sold as part of its insolvency proceedings due to these unpaid loans. Patanjali aims to use its 24 plants for crushing, milling, refining and packaging edible oils to expand its own edible oil business, ET Online reported.

Patanjali’s founder and head Ram Dev has been very vocal about his plans to make the business India’s largest FMCG firm. However, the business has seen its once rapid growth slow down significantly over the past year. The brand has diversified into a clothing brand, denim, expanded beauty offerings, and even online messaging services but this acquisition appears to put a big part of the focus back on food products.