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Temptation
Foods acquires Everfresh; Expands product range
7 November 2007
Mumbai: Processed fruits
and vegetables exporter Temptation Foods Limited today announced its intention
to acquire the entire business of the Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals' Everfresh
brand, one of the biggest domestic brands in the frozen fruits and vegetables
segment, reporting a topline of Rs20 crore in 2007. Temptation
Foods will fund the acquisition from the amount raised via its recently concluded
QIP (qualified institutional promoters) issue. Everfresh's
processed food unit, located at Sonepat, Haryana, has advanced facilities of processing,
packaging and freezing of high quality fruits and vegetables. The plant uses advanced
German 'individually quick freezing' (IQF) Technology to ensure high standards
of hygiene during processing. "We
welcome the Everfresh employees and management team to Temptation Foods Limited,"
said Vinit Kumar, chairman and managing director, Temptation Foods Limited. "This
acquisition ties in with our growth plans, which is strong brands and a balance
between domestic and export business. "The
Everfresh acquisition will also give us a robusts Pan Indian sales and distribution
network. We will look at expanding the breadth and depth of the Everfresh brand
and also look at exploring export opportunities." Temptation
Foods was set up in 1991 on the outskirts of Pune for individual quick frozen
(IQF) processing of fruits and vegetables. The company underwent a complete financial
restructuring in 2006 making it completely debt free by raising approximately
$3 million from international hedge funds and high net worth individuals. Temptation
has had cash profits for the past six years and closed 2006-07 with a turnover
of $9.6 million and a PAT of $1.42 million resulting in an annualised EPS of 10.93
cents per share on a fully diluted basis. This
acquisition strengthens Temptation's products across all areas of the frozen fruits
and vegetables business. It also helps the company access North India's fruits
produced at the Everfresh processing facility.  Temptation
had recently announced the successfully closure of its QIP issue for Rs114 crore
(being 7,600,000 shares at Rs150 each), over subscribed 1.58 times. Some of the
key allottees include Citigroup Global Markets, Macquarie Bank, HSBC Financial
Services, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, UBS Securities, Merrill Lynch and Wardferry.
The issue was lead managed by Keynote Corporate Services Limited and Cantor Fitzgerald
acted as financial advisor.
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