Carlyle to buy minority stake in bathware company Varmora for $100m

The Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire a significant minority stake in Ahmedabad-based tile and bathware company Varmora Granito, as the US private equity investor expects a brand-cautious Indian consumer to spend big on residential modifications.

Although terms of the transaction were not disclosed, people close to the development told ET that Carlyle would be investing about $100 million in the privately held company.

Equity for this transaction will come from funds managed and advised by entities affiliated with Carlyle Asia Partners Growth, a news release said.

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Established in 1994, Varmora is a founder-led company. It aims to leverage the partnership with Carlyle to enhance its investments in brand building and digital marketing, deepen its distribution network, and augment product innovation and capacity, the news release said.

Carlyle believes a positive outlook for the residential sector, along with rising per-capita income in India and product premiumisation, provides significant growth opportunities for a branded building-materials consumer player such as Varmora, it said.

“We believe this is driven by a differentiated product portfolio, strong pan-India distribution network and an exceptional management team. We also view Varmora as a platform for consolidation in the fast-growing building materials space,” said Amit Jain, managing director and co-head, Carlyle India Advisors.

Source: Economic Times

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