Roquette Begins Joint Venture With Riddhi Siddhi to Become Leading Starch Company In India

Roquette takes the majority share in the new company to be called ‘Roquette - Riddhi Siddhi’. By investing in new capacities and bringing value added products, Roquette will reinforce its leadership on the Indian market.

31 May 2012 --- Roquette, one of the global leaders in the starch industry announced today in Lestrem (Pas-de-Calais, France) the acquisition of the 3 starch production sites of the leading Indian starch manufacturer, Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols Ltd. Roquette takes the majority share in the new company to be called ‘Roquette - Riddhi Siddhi’. By investing in new capacities and bringing value added products, Roquette will reinforce its leadership on the Indian market.

Roquette took a 14.9% shareholding in Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols Ltd in 2006 and established a strategic alliance with this family-owned company. The company achieved a turnover of $200 million in 2011, holding 25% market share in India and employing over 1000 staff. Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols Ltd is the leader in India in the starch production with 3 production sites: Gokak (Karnataka), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Viramgam (Gujarat).

As of May 31st 2012, these 3 corn-starch plants become part of “Roquette - Riddhi Siddhi”. The new company, headquartered in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) will continue with M. Ganpatraj Chowdhary as managing director, founder and former CEO of Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols Ldt. Guy Talbourdet, Roquette Group CEO commented: “We are very excited to bring the new Indian team on board and look forward to its quick integration into Roquette Group”.

Besides, Roquette is already present in India through its representative office Roquette India Private Ltd, established in Mumbai in June 2007 and enriched by a food applications laboratory in 2010.

Guy Talbourdet explained “India will be the world most populated country by 2030. India is experiencing a significant growth (15 to 20% per annum) in the nutrition and health sector, a strategic segment for Roquette, representing two third of its sales. With this acquisition, Roquette becomes the first international player in India in the starch industry and aims at supporting the growth of this market with an ambitious investment plan”.

Through this acquisition, Roquette Group also strengthens its global position in the nutrition and health and plant-based chemistry fields.