Birlas acquire Madura brands

Incidentally, this is the fifth acquisition of the AdityaBirla group in the last two years. The first two acquisitions were in the cement industry, and one in the pulp industry. The takeover of Madura Garments and LearningBytes International are milestones in the groups’ efforts to build a value chain as ready made service and solution providers by using intellectual properties after taking a leadership in the Indian mutual fund industry.

In a separate transaction, Aditya Vikram Global Trading House Ltd, a wholly-owned overseas subsidiary of Indian Rayon is purchasing from Coats Viyella Plc the technology and exclusive brand rights from various countries in SAARC and Middle East region for a consideration of $ 10.8 million (Rs 47 crore). This will help Indian Rayon export branded garments in these territories by leveraging India’s well established skill base in the textile industry using state-of-the-art technology obtained from world’s leading garment manufacturers as well as the exclusive right to use globally renowned brand names in the region. Importantly,this will enable Madura Garments access export markets and widen its growth plans.

Madura Garments had an annual sales of about Rs 250 crore in 1999 and has historically enjoyed a robust sales growth of over 40 per cent for the last five years. It has also been achieving export of about Rs 25 crore per year. Madura Garments has a strong national distribution coverage through about 100 exclusive showrooms and over 3000 retail outlets.

Birla has named Vikram Rao, group executive president, fabrics and apparel business, to manage the operations of Madura Garments as well. He was once the president of Madura Coats’ Apparel Fabrics division.