Godrej Agrovet to acquire Tyson 49% stake in GTFL

Diversified food and agri-business conglomerate Godrej Agrovet (GAVL) on Thursday said it has signed an agreement with Tyson India Holdings -- an affiliate of Tyson Foods Inc. -- to buy the latter's 49 per cent stake in Godrej Tyson Foods Ltd (GTFL).

Following the completion of the transaction, GAVL will now hold 100 per cent stake in GTFL, further consolidating its business, GAVL said in a statement.

In 2008, GAVL had entered into a joint venture with the Tyson Foods Inc. Affiliate to manufacture and market processed poultry and vegetarian products.

Apart from selling products under brands 'Real Good Chicken' and 'Yummiez', GTFL is also engaged in the sale of live poultry birds in the market.

"Our partnership with Tyson Foods has been very enriching. Enabling us to leverage their capabilities in vertically integrated poultry processing and product development, it enabled us to modernize the way high quality poultry products are developed, produced and distributed in our country," GAVL Managing Director Balram Singh Yadav said.

He said, the household penetration of frozen snacks in India is below 6 per cent, indicating ample room for expansion.

"Hence, as we continue to focus on branded business supported by a cost-efficient live bird production system, our endeavour is to strengthen our portfolio and increase our presence across different channels," he added.

Godrej Tyson Foods operates in the B2C space through value-added products such as Real Good Chicken and Godrej Yummiez whereas in the B2B vertical, it supplies processed chicken to renowned brands across leading hotel chains and quick service restaurants.

Having presence in more than 35 cities pan-India, the company has also started exporting products under the Godrej Yummiez brand to several countries.