Haldiram to buy Kwality for ₹130 cr

Haldiram group has emerged as the sole bidder for acquiring debt-ridden dairy firm Kwality with an offer of around ₹130 crore in the ongoing insolvency process. The lenders are likely to vote on Haldiram’s bid later this month, they added.

Kwality is engaged in the business of milk processing and manufacturing of dairy products, including ghee, milk powders, lassi, chaach and flavoured milk. It owns two milk processing units, one in Softa, Haryana, and another in Dibai, Uttar Pradesh.

Shailendra Ajmera, who is part of multinational consultancy firm EY, has been appointed as the resolution professional to conduct the insolvency proceedings, which started in December 2018 following an order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Global private equity player KKR had filed insolvency plea against Kwality.

In 2016, Kwality had raised ₹300 crore from KKR India Financial Services and got additional commitment of ₹220 crore. The amount was raised to fund its expansion plans and enter into consumer segment. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) met on Wednesday to take stock of the resolution process and discuss the valuation report.

According to sources, Haldiram has emerged as the sole bidder for the acquisition. The CoC will vote on resolution plan in the third week of October and Kwality has a total debt of around ₹1,900 crore, which means that lenders would have to take a significant haircut.