Philippine Tycoon Joselito Campos, India Billionaire Sunil Mittal Revamp Del Monte India

Philippine tycoon Joselito Campos and partner billionaire Sunil Mittal’s are merging their Del Monte Foods venture in India with popcorn maker Agro Tech Foods in an all-share deal valued at 13 billion rupees ($154 million).

The deal is part of a proposed restructuring of Del Monte’s Indian operations. Under the plan, Mittal’s Bharti Enterprises will swap its 59.3% stake Del Monte Foods in India for a 21% stake in India-listed Agro Tech Foods, which manufactures edibles oils and ready-to-cook foods, spreads and snacks, including ACT II popcorn, Sundrop peanut butter and nachos

Agro Tech, which has been rebranded to Sundrop Brands as part of the restructuring, will also acquire Del Monte Pacific’s 40.7% stake in Del Monte Foods, giving it full ownership of Del Monte’s Indian operations, according to stock exchange filings.

Bharti Enterprises will become the second-largest shareholder of India-listed Agro Tech, while Singapore-based Del Monte Pacific will own 13% of Agro Tech.

Del Monte will boost Agro Tech’s scale and margin, “potentially accelerating shareholder returns and offering a more diverse portfolio of high-quality products to consumers,” said Harjeet Kohli, joint managing director at Bharti Enterprises.

Agro Tech will get exclusive, perpetual license for the distribution Del Monte brands (including packaged fruits, sauces, condiments and pasta) in India. It will also have access to Del Monte’s manufacturing and research and development facilities in Tamil Nadu and Ludhiana, Punjab, the company said.

“Under the Sundrop Brands’ platform, we believe the Del Monte brand will reach new heights in India,” Rolando Gapud, executive chairman of Del Monte Pacific, said in a statement. Agro Tech Foods, which has a market capitalization of $274 million, posted net sales of $90 million in the year to March 2024.

Del Monte Pacific is among the assets owned by Joselito Campos and his siblings, who inherited Unilab, one of the Philippines’ largest pharmaceutical companies that was cofounded by their late father, Jose Campos, almost eight decades ago. The Campos family is among the wealthiest in the Philippines with a net worth of $940 million, according to Forbes Asia.

Mittal, who has a net worth of $11.7 billion based on Forbes’ real-time data, founded Bharti Enterprises in 1976 as a manufacturer of bicycle parts. It has since expanded into one of the most diversified conglomerates in India with interests in telecoms, digital infrastructure, financial services, real estate and processed foods. Bharti Airtel, which he started in 1995, has grown to become one of the world’s largest telecom companies with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa.

The Del Monte transaction, which will be completed in nine months, comes as Chicago-based Conagra is set to divest within the year its 51.8% holdings in Agro Tech to Indian private equity firms Convergent Finance and Samara Capital.