In its first major acquisition, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved walked away with debt-ridden edible oil firm Ruchi Soya with a bid of ₹ 4,325 crore, sources said. Patanjali acquired Ruchi Soya Industries in an insolvency auction started by lenders to recover over ₹ 9,300 crore loans.

Homegrown FMCG major almost got a walk over after rival Adani Wilmar decided to pull out from the race despite being selected the highest bidder few months back.

According to sources, lenders on Tuesday approved the Patanjali’s revised bid of ₹ 4,325 crore with around 96 per cent vote in favour.

With the acquisition of Ruchi Soya, Patanjali will become a major player in soyabean oils and other products.

In December 2017, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had referred Ruchi Soya for insolvency proceedings on the application of financial creditors Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank. Shailendra Ajmera was appointed as resolution professional (RP) to manage the company’s affairs and conduct insolvency proceedings.

Patanjali, the lone player left in contention after the exit of Adani Wilmar, had last month increased its bid value by around ₹ 200 crore to ₹ 4,350 crore for the Ruchi Soya. This excluded capital infusion of ₹ 1,700 crore into the company.

Ruchi Soya Industries owes around ₹ 9,345 crore to financial creditors.

Among financial creditors, State Bank of India (SBI) has the maximum exposure of around ₹ 1,800 crore, followed by Central Bank of India ₹ 816 crore, Punjab National Bank ₹ 743 crore and Standard Chartered Bank - India ₹ 608 crore.

Ruchi Soya has many manufacturing plants and its leading brands include Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Star and Ruchi Gold.

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