Reacting to the media reports that stated that Vadilal Industries has received a buyout interest from private equity firm Bain Capital, the ice cream maker said that there was no information which has not been announced by the company to stock exchanges.
“Vadilal Industries Limited regularly evaluates various opportunities for restructuring, investments or divestments in the course of its business,” it said in a regulatory filing, while adding that there was no event or announcement that has occurred which mandated a disclosure. “The Company has informed stock exchanges on December 8, 2022 in relation to certain business transactions being approved by the board of directors of the Company which were subject to approval of the shareholders of the Company and execution of the definitive agreements. As on date, no other event or announcement has occurred which mandates a disclosure,” it said.
Earlier, media reports had suggested that the US-based investment firm is looking to acquire a controlling stake in the combined entity of Vadilal Industries and Vadilal Enterprises. According to a CNBC TV18 report, Bain Capital is considering merging the two entities and is valuing Vadilal ice cream business at over Rs 30 billion.
For the fourth quarter of financial year 2022-23, Vadilal Industries had posted revenue from operations at Rs 256.25 crore, up 20.4 per cent as against Rs 212.86 crore during the same quarter last year. It clocked profit at Rs 28.78 crore, up 32.7 per cent in comparison to Rs 21.69 crore in Q4FY22. The company had reported a loss of Rs 9.29 crore in the December 2022 quarter.