TTK Prestige to acquire ailing Indian unit of Italy's Bialetti

Home appliances major TTK Prestige Ltd has announced plans to acquire Italian firm's ailing Indian unit, Triveni Bialetti Industries Pvt Ltd, which makes kitchen appliances.

The takeover will help the company expand faster in the non-stick cookware segment and the company expects the merger process to be over before the end of the current fiscal, TT Jagannathan, chairman of TTK Prestige, said.

Triveni Bialetti has a state-of-the-art, automated manufacturing unit in Khardi, in Mumbai suburbs, in which the Italian company has invested €6-7 million since 2008.

Bialetti, based in Coccaglio, Lombardy, Italy, formed a joint venture with the Gangar family, a local exporter of cookware products, in late 2007, and started operations in early 2009.

But, with little success with its premium products, the company decided to exit India operations.

Although TTK Prestige did not reveal the transaction details, sources close to the deal said the takeover costs TTK Prestige around €3-4 million (about Rs25-30 crore).