Godrej plans to woo African market with its Darling buy

FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) has acquired 51% stake in Darling Group, a pan-African hair care company. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Adi Godrej CMD of the company said, Darling Group will be acquired in three stages and GCPL will ultimately buy 100% stake in the company.

This acquisition, he said, will give GCPL access to many African markets and is seen earning per share (EPS) accretive from the first year itself. "This will be a game changing acquisition for us," he added. Adi Godrej sees strong growth for GCPL in FY12. GCPL completed merger of Godrej Household Products Ltd with itself in March 2011. The FMCG major expects to generate an additional revenue of up to Rs 2,000 crore in the next three-four years post merger. Also read: Godrej Inds Q4 net jumps 42%, sees strong growth in FY12 Below is a transcript of his interview with CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Anuj Singhal. Also watch the accompanying video. Q: What are you paying for this and this is not an outright purchase, acquiring a right for a 51% stake? A: The Darling Group is one of the largest hair care company across Africa. They work in many countries in Africa. We have signed an agreement to acquire 51% in the company, later on, within a period of three to five years, buy 100%. The company will be acquired in three stages. The first stage will be roughly half of the total pan-Africa business. Then there will be a second stage which will be implemented after one year and third stage after another year. We will ultimately own 100% of the business, but it will be done in phases.  Q: Could you tell us about the financials that Darling Group has? A: Unfortunately, I can