Emami on verge of buying Marico’s ‘Sweekar’ brand

The Kolkata-based Emami group is reportedly close to sealing a deal for buying 'Sweekar', a refined sunflower oil brand of Marico.

''Sweekar was on the block for some time. It was one of the major brands in the country. Now, Emami is in advanced stages of discussion with the Mumbai-based company for acquiring this brand,'' Business Standard quoted an unnamed company official as saying. Emami's edible oil business is under its subsidiary, Emami Biotech.

However, Marico refused to confirm the deal. ''This is market speculation and we cannot comment on this,'' said a Marico spokesperson.

Sweekar is a Rs80-crore brand and Marico has also launched a low-absorb oil under it.

Last year, the Emami board had cleared the decks for acquisitions up to Rs5,000 crore in India and abroad. Emami director Aditya Agarwal said recently, ''We are in expansion mode and will invest about Rs1,000 crore in the edible oil sector. The firm is looking at some acquisitions also, but nothing has finalised.''

Emami Biotech has a modern oil processing unit at Haldia in West Bengal and has forayed into the packaged edible oil market last year under the brand name Healthy and Tasty. The brand has five variants under its belt - soyabean, sunflower, palmolein, mustard and soyabean blend.

It has also planned new facilities at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and one in Gujarat, apart from expanding the capacity of its current plant at Haldia in West Bengal. The 1,200-tonne plant at Krishnapatnam will be commissioned in August, while increasing the Haldia unit's capacity from 1,000 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes.

''Both these projects will require an investment of Rs500 crore. We may also set up another 1,000-tonne facility in Gujarat, with an investment of around Rs300 crore,'' Agarwal said.