New Delhi, Mar 3 (PTI) Consumer food company LT Foods on Thursday announced the acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in the US-based Golden Star Trading Inc along with its brand for an undisclosed amount, with a call option to further buy 49 per cent equity at the end of three years.
The acquisition has been done through the material non-listed subsidiary firm LT Foods Americas Inc (LTFA), which has contributed more than 35 per cent to the overall revenue through its flagship brand Royal in North America, LT Foods said in a regulatory filing.
“Acquisition of the shares is done at a mutually agreed valuation and the said valuation has not been disclosed herein due to reasons of confidentiality,” it said.
The acquisition has been done in an all-cash consideration. The acquisition will be completed by March 31 this year, it added.
Golden Star Trading Inc, a family-owned business established in 1989 and headquartered in California, is into consumer food production. It has a turnover of USD 55 million. It sells jasmine rice under the brand ‘Golden Star’.
Speaking on the occasion, LT Foods CEO and Managing Director Ashwani Kumar Arora said the acquisition of the Golden Star business is an excellent fit and is consistent with the company’s strategic plan to expand its product offerings across geographies.
“We all are impressed by Golden Star’s brand growth trajectory and the execution, and operational excellence, to produce consistent quality products and expand its reach.
“We are excited about this expansion and we also look forward to integrating the two businesses by leveraging the brand equity of Royal and Golden Star as well as its well-established and robust distribution network,” he added.
Through this acquisition, the company said LTFA will be able to leverage its robust distribution network across channels to further expand its share within the speciality rice market across North America.
At the same time, this acquisition will enable LTFA to have a more diverse and sizable offering, thus strengthening its stronghold in the US speciality rice market, it added.
“This partnership enables LTFA to strategically grow our market share of speciality grains in North America,” LTFA President Abhinav Arora said.
Golden Star Trading President and Promoter Christina Wong said, “We have nurtured the Golden Star brand for more than 30 years now and were looking for the right partner to associate with our brand. In LTFA, we found the perfect strategic partner.” Wong added that the team will further nurture and enhance the brand value of Golden Star while remaining faithful to the company’s founding principles.
LT Foods, a leading player in the speciality rice and rice food products and organic business across the globe, sells basmati rice under the Daawat brand in India and the Royal brand in North America. PTI LUX HRS hrs
