LT FOODS AMERICAS TAKES 51% STAKE IN JASMINE RICE PRODUCER
LT Foods Americas (LTFA), a subsidiary of India’s LT Foods, has acquired a 51% controlling stake in Golden Star Trading Inc, along with its jasmine rice brand Golden Star. The deal includes a call option to buy the remaining 49% stake at the end of three years.
LTFA contributes more than 35% of the revenue of its 70-year-old consumer food parent, through the flagship brand Royal in North America. This latest acquisition of the family-owned, female-owned Golden Star Trading will strengthen LTFA’s share of the branded jasmine rice market.
The American speciality rice market includes jasmine rice and basmati rice, but the jasmine segment is approximately three times bigger than basmati. Golden Star is one of the strongest players in this segment, particularly in mainstream retail.
LT Foods Americas looks to lead in speciality rice
In a statement, LTFA’s parent said: “Through this acquisition, LTFA will be able to leverage its robust distribution network across channels to further expand its share within the speciality rice market across North America. At the same time, this acquisition will enable the subsidiary to have a more diverse and sizeable offering.”
LT Foods CEO Ashwani Kumar Arora added: “The acquisition of Golden Star is an excellent fit and is consistent with our strategic plan to expand our product offerings across geographies. We are impressed by Golden Star’s growth trajectory and we are excited about this expansion. We look forward to integrating the two businesses by leveraging the brand equity of Royal and Golden Star.”
Golden Star Trading’s president Christina Wong said: “We have nurtured our brand for more than 30 years now. In LTFA we found a strategic partner that has a strong value system in place and has already created Royal, the number one basmati brand in the North American market. We are confident their team will further nurture and enhance the values of Golden Star while remaining faithful to our founding principles.”
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