Different business deals are taking place in the southern part of India. In a major development in the food and beverage industry, MTR Foods is set to acquire one of South India’s leading spice makers, Eastern Condiments. MTR is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norwegian consumer conglomerate Orkla ASA, and the company will pick up a 68 percent stake of Eastern Condiments, resulting in a merger. The business transaction estimates Kerala-based Eastern Condiments at Rs 2,000 crore. Orkla’s move is reportedly to increase its footprint in India’s branded spice market. Way back in 2007, Orkla had acquired MTR Foods.
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The transaction will see MTR acquire a 41.8 percent stake from the Meeran Family, who are the promoters of Eastern. The balance of 26 percent will be picked up from McCormick Spices which holds the stake. After the first leg of acquisition, an application to merge Eastern with MTR will be presented and the merged company will be owned by Orkla ASA and the two brothers — Firoz and Navas Meeran, with a split stake of 90.1 and 9.99 percent respectively.
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Eastern Condiments was founded by Kothamangalam native late ME Meeran in Adimali in 1983. The brand’s name can be traced back to the Eastern Trading Company which Meeran founded in 1968. The company has grown into one of India’s largest spice exporters. Apart from spices, Eastern also sells Sambar podi, Adai Dosai mix, Upma mix, pickles and other ready-to-eat food items. They have also diversified to other unrelated fields like mattress manufacturing. They even dabbled in Education and Wind Energy.