World’s largest dairy player Groupe Lactalis SA has acquired Tirumala Milk Products Private Limited.

According to a statement by Tirumala, the transaction marks France-based Lactalis’ entry into India .

The deal to buy out 100 per cent stake in Tirumala was reportedly closed at USD 275 million (Rs 1,750 crore)

Lactalis Group Communication Director Michel Nalet said the deal was officially finalised yesterday, but no amount regarding the deal was disclosed either in India or France.

“For Lactalis, this first acquisition in India is an important step for us and due to the quality of the business model developed by the previous share holders, we believe that it will be a very good platform to develop the business in India,” Nalet told PTI in an email reply.

Tirumala Co-Founder and Managing Director D Brahmanandam said his company has emerged as a leader in the private sector dairy market in South India.

“We are extremely happy to have partnered with Carlyle, who provided numerous value creation activities and acted as a catalyst in the growth of the company over the past few years. Tirumala is the partner of choice for Lactalis, and is well poised to emerge as a national brand with market leadership position,” Brahmanandam said.

Tirumala is the second largest private dairy company in South India.

Barclays was the sole financial advisor to Tirumala. J Sagar Associates was the legal advisor to Tirumala. Rothschild was the sole financial advisor to Lactalis. Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co was the legal advisor to Lactalis.

Founded in 1996 by D Brahmanandam, B Brahma Naidu, B Nageswara Rao, Dr N Venkata Rao and R Satyanarayana, Tirumala raised equity investment in 2010 from First Carlyle Ventures III and First Carlyle Growth VII, affiliates of The Carlyle Group (Carlyle), a global alternative asset manager.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / by Press Trust of India / Hyderabad – January 08th, 2014