INDIA – Varun Beverages, the PepsiCo bottler in India has agreed to acquire an additional 20% stake in pet bottle caps and crown caps maker Lunarmech Technologies for ₹15 crore (US$2.1 million).
The transaction will see Varun Beverages increase its stake in Lunarmech to 55%, Varun Beverages said in a stock-exchange filing. The deal is likely to be completed by September 15.
Varun Beverages already owns a stake in Lunarmech through Angelica Technologies Pvt. Ltd. It holds a 47.30% stake in Angelica, which owns 74% of Lunarmech.
Lunarmech was incorporated in May 2009 and is headquartered in New Delhi. The company reported revenue of ₹77.54 crore (US$10.79 million) for the financial year ended March 2019, up from ₹62.13 crore (US$8.64 million) the year before.
Varun Beverages is one of the largest franchisees in the world (outside the US) of carbonated as well as non-carbonated beverages sold under brands owned by PepsiCo.
It produces and distributes beverages such as Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Tropicana Slice and Aquafina packaged drinking water. It also has the franchise for the Ole brand of PepsiCo products in Sri Lanka.
As part of its expansion, Varun Beverages aas also secures a deal to acquire Pespico India’s previuolsy franchised territiroes in Odisha and parts of Madhya Pradesh along with three manufacturing units.
Following the completion of that transaction, Varun Beverages will be a franchisee for PepsiCo products across 18 states and two union territories.
The soft drink manufacturer seeks to be a franchise of PepsiCo’s beverage business across 27 out of 29 Indian states and all seven Union Territories (UTs).
The company’s investors include AION Capital, the special situation investment firm jointly run by Apollo Global and ICICI Venture, and Standard Chartered Private Equity.
In its most recent qualified institutional placement (QIP), Varun Beverages raised ₹899.99 crore (US$125.18 million).
Earlier, the company’s board in February had approved the raising of capital up to ₹1,500 crore (US$208.63 million) through a qualified institutions placement.
