French dairy company Lactalis, after making three acquisitions, will be investing Rs 50-60 crore every year to beef up infrastructure related to procurement and processing, apart from technological upgradation.
The company had invested close to Rs 4,000 crore in India during the last five years, including in three acquisitions, and plans to become a pan-India player in a couple of years.
Lactalis, which has got presence in south and west India, is now looking towards north for its next footprint expansion and scouting for acquisition for this purpose. After north India, it will eye the eastern market in a phased manner.
The company has started the process of looking for local companies in NCR region for possible acquisition. Lactalis entered India in 2014 when it bought Thirumala Milk Products for around Rs 1,700 crore.
In 2016, it acquired the dairy business of Indore-based Anik Industries for Rs 470 crore. Recently, it announced acquisition of the milk products business of Prabhat Dairy for Rs 1,700 crore in its third deal in the country. Thirumala, based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has dairy products such as milk, curd, buttermilk, lassi, ghee, ice cream, paneer and butter, in its portfolio.