Reliance Consumer To Buy Ravalgaon Candy Brands In Rs 27 Crore Deal

Reliance Consumer Products Ltd. has agreed to acquire Ravalgaon Sugar Farm's iconic candy brands in a Rs 27-crore deal.

Ravalgaon Sugar Farm, which owns brands such as Mango Mood, Coffee Break, Tutty Fruity, Paan Pasand, Choco Cream and Supreme, has sold its trademarks, recipes, all intellectual property rights to Reliance Consumer, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.

A deed of assignment by promoters Harshavardhan Bharat Doshi, Nihal Harshavardhan Doshi, and Lalan Ajay Kapadi has also been executed.

The Ravalgaon deal, however, "does not envisage a sale of all assets and liabilities of the company". The company will continue to hold all other assets such as property, land, plant, building, equipment, machinery, etc., after the completion of the proposed transaction.

Reliance Consumer is a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, a unit of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd. The company wants to grow in India's fragmented fast-moving consumer goods space, as part of which it recently acquired the home-grown soft drink brand Campa Cola.

According to Ravalgaon Sugar, it has found it difficult in recent years to sustain its sugar-boiled confectionery business.

The company has lost market share due to a surge in competition from both organised and unorganised players in this industry. At the same time, profitability has taken a hit due to a sustained rise in raw material, energy and labour prices.

That has hampered the ability to effectively pass on the input price hikes to its customers beyond the Re 1 price point.