BackBritannia looks at full control of joint ventures
Britannia looks at full control of joint ventures
PremiumBusiness expansion: Britannia’s Vinita Bali says the firm owns the Tiger brand and will continue to use it wherever it is present. Hemant Mishra / Mint
Mumbai: Biscuit maker Britannia Industries Ltd is looking to fully control its joint ventures in the dairy and bakery businesses by buying out stakes held by venture partners.
The Wadia group-promoted Britannia has decided to buy Fonterra Brands (Mauritius Holding) Ltd’s 49% stake in Britannia New Zealand Food Pvt. Ltd for an undisclosed sum.
This follows the Wadia group buying French firm Groupe Danone SA’s 25.48% stake in Britannia earlier this month, ending a decade-old partnership.
Chief executive officer Vinita Bali said that Britannia is working on making the biscuit brand Tiger its own. “Britannia owns the Tiger brand and will continue to use it wherever it is present," she said, adding that Danone has already exited the biscuits business globally and so will not be using the brand name anymore.
Britannia is looking at aggressively expanding its bakery business to ensure the company continues to clock double-digit growth. The company has seen an annual growth rate of 22% for the past four years.
Britannia has also lined up several new products for its dairy business, especially cheese, a product segment it leads. These products will be launched over the next few months.
Bali also said that even though the company is constantly looking out for newer business opportunities, it will focus on its core business of dairy and bakery products in the short term.
cnbctv18@livemint.com
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