Lactalis Acquires 100% Stake in Carlyle-backed Tirumala Milk Products

Mumbai, India – Groupe Lactalis SA (Lactalis), the world’s largest dairy player, has acquired 100% of the shares in Tirumala Milk Products Private Limited (Tirumala) – the second largest private dairy company in South India.

Tirumala was founded in 1996 by D. Brahmanandam, B. Brahma Naidu, B. Nageswara Rao, Dr. N. Venkata Rao and R. Satyanarayana. Tirumala raised equity investment in 2010 from First Carlyle Ventures III and First Carlyle Growth VII, affiliates of The Carlyle Group (Carlyle), a global alternative asset manager. This transaction marks Lactalis’ entry into India – the world’s largest producer of milk and milk products.

Commenting on the transaction, D. Brahmanandam, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Tirumala said: “Tirumala has emerged as a leader in the private sector dairy market in South India. This was possible due to the relentless efforts of the founders and the consistent focus on quality. We are extremely happy to have partnered with Carlyle, who provided numerous value creation activities and acted as a catalyst in the growth of the company over the past few years. Tirumala is the partner of choice for Lactalis, and is well poised to emerge as a national brand with market leadership position.”

Shankar Narayanan, Managing Director, Carlyle India said: “Tirumala’s founders have built an extremely successful business with strong franchise value. Carlyle’s investment in Tirumala exemplifies its ability to partner with entrepreneurs to create value for all stakeholders. During Carlyle’s investment, the company’s revenues grew two and a half times and profits more than quadrupled. We wish the company continued success going forward.”

Jaideep Khanna, CEO & Country Head for Barclays India said: “The deal marks the largest dairy transaction in India. Tirumala provides a strong platform for Lactalis’ entry into one of the largest dairy markets globally. It’s been a pleasure to have worked with both Tirumala and Carlyle on this deal.”

Barclays was the sole financial advisor to Tirumala. J. Sagar Associates was the legal advisor to Tirumala. Rothschild was the sole financial advisor to Lactalis. Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. was the legal advisor to Lactalis.

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About Tirumala
Tirumala is the second largest private sector dairy player in Southern India with a processing capacity of 1.66 million litres per day across 7 plants. Since 1996, the Company has been involved in the manufacturing, marketing, sale and distribution of a wide range of branded dairy products. The Company is particularly known for the quality of its products.

About Lactalis Group
Founded in France 80 years ago, Groupe Lactalis is globally the largest dairy player, employing more than 54,000 people and operating in 70 countries through 200 factories. Lactalis develops well-known international brands such as Président, Galbani and Parmalat.

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $185 billion of assets under management across 122 funds and 81 fund of funds vehicles as of September 30, 2013. Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,450 people in 34 offices across six continents.

Web: www.carlyle.com
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Media contacts:

The Carlyle Group
Tammy Li                                                       Brian Zhou
Phone: +852 2878 5236                                Phone: +86 10 57067070
tammy.li@carlyle.com                                    brian.zhou@carlyle.com

Groupe Lactalis
Michel NALET
Phone: +33243594121
michel.nalet@lactalis.fr

Adfactors PR
Manibalan Manoharan
Phone: +91 22 6757 4275
manibalan.manoharan@adfactorspr.com

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