‘MNCs come to India to take part in consumption story’

MUMBAI: Orkla India, maker of popular dosa batter and ready to eat meals brand MTR Foods, is heading for a public market debut 17 years after the company entered the country, a move it said will establish value for the business and allow it to step up acquisitions in a more “meaningful and competitive manner.” The listing scheduled for Nov 6 will mark the market debut by a foreign owned Indian food company after quite some time. Orkla India, the local unit of Norway’s Orkla ASA is seeking a valuation of Rs 10,000 crore at the upper end of the IPO price band set at Rs 730 per share. The Rs 1,667 crore IPO which will open next week is entirely an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 2.2 crore shares. Orkla ASA and (IPO) selling shareholder Orkla Asia Pacific jointly hold about 90% stake in the company. “We are a cash-generating company. We do not need a primary. From that point of view, if we have to access the capital markets, the only route is through secondary. The objective of every MNC is to come to India to extract the value out of the India consumption story and by listing, we are going to accelerate the value creation. Many people think we are exiting India but it is a commitment to India. We are very clear that we are committing ourselves to India,” Sanjay Sharma, MD & CEO at Orkla India told TOI. “We are much more secure and confident about our journey in India. That is why we are doing the listing and now we are willing to do acquisitions in any part of the country,” Sharma added.Orkla India’s portfolio has been built on acquisitions – MTR Foods, Eastern and Rasoi Magic spanning spices and convenience foods segments are all brands that were acquired by the company which it then scaled.