Orkla India Limited, the Indian arm of the Norwegian industrial investment conglomerate and the parent of iconic domestic brands MTR Foods, Eastern Condiments and Rasoi Magic, has concluded investor roadshows for its proposed initial public offer and is set to make its market debut in the coming weeks, multiple industry sources told Moneycontrol.
The proposed listing is yet another sign of a global MNC looking to unlock value in the domestic stock market. It comes on the back of LG Electronics India, the unit of the South Korean major, becoming the first large IPO in India (Rs 11,607 crore) to cross the Rs 4 lakh crore-mark in subscription.
"Orkla India Ltd (formerly known as MTR Food Private Ltd) is targeting an IPO valuation between $1.10 billion (Rs 9,800 crore) and $1.18 billion (Rs 10,500 crore)," one of the persons above said.
A second person added, "The updated draft red herring prospectus ( UDRHP) will be filed shortly and the plan is to launch the issue, a pure OFS or offer for sale, by October end or in November depending on market conditions."
A third person confirmed the above plans.
All the three persons spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.
Email queries sent to Orkla Asa and Orkla India were left unanswered at the time of publishing this article. Reminders have been sent and this article will be updated as soon as we hear from the firms.
Incidentally, in February , Mint reported that ITC had held discussions to acquire Orkla India for $1.4 bn in a pivot from the listings plans.
An Orkla spokesperson declined to comment on “unfounded market rumors or speculation," in response to the Mint story. If the sale falls short of expectations, Orkla may still pursue the IPO route, the report had added.
Private equity firm Advent International had pursued a dual track strategy for its portfolio firm Manjushree Technopak which eventually resulted in a sale to PAG, first reported by Moneycontrol.
To be sure, a dual track process is a deal strategy in which the owner of the firm simultaneously pursues an initial public offering (IPO) as well as a private M&A auction process till the former finalises one option based on its needs, valuations and market conditions.
The Orkla India IPO journey: deal structure
Orkla India received the Sebi nod for the IPO on September 15 and had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) earlier in July.
As per the draft documents, the IPO will comprise a complete offer for sale (OFS) of 2.28 crore equity shares. As part of the OFS, shares will be sold by promoter Orkla Asia Pacific Pte, along with shareholders Navas Meeran and Feroz Meeran.
The promoters — Orkla Asia Pacific Pte Ltd and Orkla ASA — collectively hold a 90% stake in the company. Navas Meeran and Feroz Meeran hold 5% stake each.
Since the IPO is entirely an OFS, no proceeds will be received by the company and the entire amount raised will go to the selling shareholders. The book-running lead managers to the issue are ICICI Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Citigroup Global Markets India and JP Morgan India.
More on Orkla: India entry
Orkla entered India in 2007 by buying MTR Foods and, five years later it acquired Kerala-based spice maker Eastern Condiments. Then in 2023, the firm restructured its Indian operations, consolidating its three business units—MTR, Eastern and international business — into a single entity named Orkla India.
Orkla India is a multi-category food company that offers a range of products including spices, masalas, ready-to-eat sweets, and breakfast mixes.
According to a Technopak report, the Indian packaged food market was estimated at ₹10.18 lakh crore in FY24, growing at a CAGR of 10.8% from FY19.
The parent Orkla operates in the branded consumer goods, aluminium products and financial investment sectors. The firm has multiple brands and consumer-oriented businesses in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Baltics, rest of Europe, and internationally.
Orkla ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and had a market cap of $10.2 bn at the end of October 9 and the firm's head office is in Oslo, Norway.
The parent outlined the strategy for 2024-2026 for the Indian arm in its last annual report.
"The focus going forward will be to further strengthen Orkla India’s market positions within the core categories of spices and spice blends, while also introducing innovations to strengthen Orkla India’s strong positions in the breakfast, sweets, and ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook meal segments. Orkla India will seek value-creating investment opportunities, with disciplined and focused approach to both capital expenditure and mergers and acquisitions," the report said.
MNC IPOs: The Hyundai Effect
In October 2024, Hyundai Motor India, the domestic arm of the South Korean auto major, made its market debut with the country's biggest ever IPO, a $3.3-billion issue, which targeted a valuation of $19 billion, prompting many global MNC’s to take note of the India opportunity. Incidentally, the stock price of Hyundai Motor India Ltd has risen by more than 47% in the last six months.
The development has encouraged MNC's to kickstart prep for listings of their Indian arms. Meanwhile, the Sensex has risen by nearly 10 percent in the last six months. Italian auto parts maker Carraro's Indian arm made its public market debut in December.
Recently, Moneycontrol broke the news of Danish brewer Carlsberg evaluating an India IPO.
Moneycontrol was the first to report that LG Electronics India had filed draft papers with market regulator Sebi for a mega public float.
On April 2, 2025, Moneycontrol was also the first to report that PE major Apollo Global Management had shortlisted advisors and kicked off the IPO of Tenneco India, the local arm of its portfolio firm, US-based auto component maker Tenneco Inc.
Later in June, Moneycontrol also reported that Asia-focused private equity major Hillhouse Investment backed Versuni (formerly Philips Domestic Appliances) has picked advisors for a proposed IPO of the latter's India arm.
FAQs
How did Orkla originate?
The firm has mining roots by the river Orkla in Norway
What is the connection between Orkla and Carlsberg?
At one time, Orkla held as much as a 40% stake in Carlsberg Breweries and later sold it.
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