Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Enterprises on Friday announced inclusion of a third partner, the over $300 million, UK-based Del Monte Pacific Ltd, in its joint venture Field Fresh Foods Pvt Ltd. Field fresh, an agro-based company was a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and UK's EL Rothschild Ltd, with both holding 50% each. However, now Bharti will hold 50% share, Del Monte 40% stake and EL Rothschild’s stake will get diluted to 10%.
The development is essentially seen as a back-end support to the Bharti Retail initiative, which has entered into a technical alliance with the world’s largest retailer Wal-Mart. Field Fresh will also be serving the wholesale or the business-to-business models, which means it will also serve stores like the Metro Cash and Carry and the Bharti-Wal-Mart stores, which are going to come up by December 2008.
Field Fresh was essentially an export agro-based company and has been exporting fresh fruits and vegetables to various markets including UK, the Middle East and Europe. But now with the retail scene becoming increasingly attractive, Field Fresh will now be venturing into food processing as well.
Commenting on the deal, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman, Bharti Enterprises said, “Having created the basic building blocks of the business in the fresh produce category, we are looking at up scaling our operations through processing and value added products, and that is where a company like Del Monte’s experience will be valuable. Going forward, our aim is to emerge as a significant player in this segment.”
Del Monte Pacific Ltd is an over $300 million agro processing company with operations in processing, marketing and distribution of premium-quality food and beverage products. It operates in Philippines, China and India. In India, Del Monte Pacific is engaged in the production, distribution and sale of mango pulp and puree. Field Fresh is acquiring the manufacturing facilities of Del Monte Pacific in India.
Joselito D Campos Jr, managing director of Del Monte Pacific Ltd, said, “India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, but with an insignificant percentage of processed foods. Currently, about 20-25% of fruits and vegetables are wasted due to spoilage. The potential in both fresh and processed segments is tremendous.”
Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, chief executive, EL Rothschild Ltd, “We are delighted to have brought this company to a point where it has attracted large international players like Del Monte Pacific.
Source: Financial Express