CCI Approvals on January 21 2025

On January 21 2025, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the following proposals:

• Acquisition of 100% shareholding of Gurugram (Haryana)-based Del Monte Foods Private Limited (DMFPL) by Gurugram based Agro Tech Foods Limited (ATFL), worth Rs 1,300 crore.
• Merger of 9 entities with pharmaceutical firm Sequent Scientific Limited (SSL).
• Acquisition of 100% shareholding of Cyprus-based investment holding company of Advent International Group, AI Lenarco Midco Ltd. by Singapore-based Majesty II Pte. Limited.

CCI Approved Acquisition of Del Monte Foods by Agro Tech Foods for Rs 1,300 Crore

CCI has approved the proposed acquisition of 100% shareholding of Del Monte Foods Private Limited (DMFPL), primarily engaged in manufacture and sale of packaged foods by Agro Tech Foods Limited (ATFL), a publicly listed company engaged in the business of manufacturing, marketing and selling of broad range of food products and edible oils, worth Rs 1,300 crore.

• On the completion of this acquisition, DMFPL will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of ATFL.

Key Points:

i.As per the proposed combination, ATFL (Acquirer) will buy entire shareholding of DMFPL (Target)from its existing shareholders, i.e. Bharti Enterprises Limited (BEL), conglomerate mainly engaged in management consultancy services within the Bharti Group (including its subsidiaries) and DMPL India Limited (DMPL India).

ii.ATFL will issue 20.95% and 14.39% of its equity shares to Bharti and DMPL India, respectively through preferential allotment.

iii.Various entities of Bharti Group involved in this transaction, namely Bharti (SBM) Holdings Private Limited, Bharti (RBM) Holdings Private Limited, Bharti (RM) Holdings Private Limited, and Bharti (Satya) Trustee Private Limited (on behalf of Bharti (Satya) Family Trust) (Bharti Satya).

Points to Note:

i.Bharti Enterprises and the global investment group EL Rothschild established FieldFresh Foods as a 50:50 Joint Venture (JV) in 2004.

ii.In 2007, Singapore-based Del Monte Pacific Limited acquired 40.1% stake in FieldFresh Foods for USD 20.8 million.

iii.Later, FieldFresh was rebranded as DMFPL in 2021, which aimed at providing a ‘sharper focus on branded processed foods and retail businesses’.

CCI Approved Merger of 9 Pharma Entities with Sequent Scientific Limited

CCI has approved the merger of 9 pharma entities with India-based Sequent Scientific Limited (SSL), a publicly listed company, which operates in the Animal Health market with a global footprint.

• This merger aimed to streamline operations and strengthen SSL’s position in both animal and human healthcare segments.

Merger of Entities with SSL:

i.Mangalore (Karnataka)-based Sequent Research Limited (SRL), 100% subsidiary of SSL, which operates as a Contact Research Organisation providing analytical services and a wide range of testing to the international pharmaceutical industry.

ii.Hyderabad (Telangana)-based Viyash Life Sciences Private Limited (Viyash), pharmaceutical company and through its subsidiaries is mainly engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and intermediates for human healthcare in India.

iii. Symed Labs Limited (Symed), Appcure Labs Private Limited (Appcure), Vindhya Pharma (India) Private Limited (Vindhya Pharma) and Vandana Life Sciences Private Limited (Vandana) are wholly owned subsidiaries of Viyash and S.V. Labs Private Limited (SV Labs) is a wholly owned step-down subsidiary of Viyash (through Vindhya Pharma).

• All these subsidiaries of Viyash are based in Telangana, Hyderabad.

iv.Telangana (Hyderabad)-based Genin Life Sciences Private Limited (Genin), a holding company and does not have any operations of its own.

• Vindhya Organics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Genin, based in Telangana, Hyderabad. It is mainly engaged in the business of development, manufacture and marketing APIs for human healthcare.

CCI Approved Acquisition of AI Lenarco Midco & Convertible Debentures in Manjushree Technopack by Majesty II Pte Ltd

CCI has approved the proposed acquisition of 100% shareholding of the investment holding company of Advent International Group, AI Lenarco Midco Ltd. by Majesty II Pte. Ltd., a newly incorporated Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and an investment holding company of the PAG group.

• This will result in indirect acquisition of the majority equity shareholding in Bengaluru (Karnataka)-based Manjushree Technopack Limited, which is engaged in the business of manufacturing and sale of rigid plastic packaging products in India.
• It has also approved the acquisition of certain compulsory convertible debentures in Manjushree Technopark from AI Lenarco by Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust plc, a close-ended investment company incorporated in England and Wales; Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based Nuvama Private Investment Trust, registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a Category-II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and InCred Growth Partners Fund-I (IGPF-I),is a scheme under InCred Alternative Opportunities Trust (IAOT) and is registered with SEBI as a Category-II AIF .

About Competition Commission of India(CCI):
It is a statutory body constituted under Competition Act, 2002.
Chairman- Ravneet Kaur
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
Established- 2003