Nepal’s CG Corp looking to acquire companies in India’s food and beverage sector

NEW DELHI: Nepal’s first billionaire Binod K Chaudhary’s CG Corp, which owns Wai Wai brand of noodles, is looking to acquire companies in India in the food and beverage sector, besides planning to quadruple its production from half a billion packets in the next five years in order to increase its market share in the country.

“We are very actively looking at expanding through M&A (mergers and acquisitions) route in the food and beverage category in India,” said Chaudhary, chairman of CG Corp. He added: “We are looking at investing several hundred crore in this category.

CG Food India has a turnover of Rs 600 crore. And capital is not a constraint for us. We are looking for right opportunities.” The company is also considering providing infrastructure to food and beverage companies as well as joint venture opportunities in its upcoming food park in Rajasthan.

Besides, it is eyeing partnerships that will help it ramp up its distribution network in south India. It currently claims to have a market share of 65% in north-eastern states of the country and 15% in northern India. “Our presence in south and west is still small, so we are looking at expanding in that region,” Chaudhary said The company, which currently has seven plants, is looking to set up another plant in Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan. Its existing plants are in Sikkim, Assam, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand.