Dairy ingredients company Ace International Limited has raised $35 million (Rs 305 crore) in its first institutional funding round from the Dutch development bank FMO, responsAbility, Incofin, and Fiedlin Ventures, according to an announcement.
The company said the new capital will support the development of a greenfield, fully integrated dairy ingredients and nutrition facility in Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh. The project is intended to help Ace International scale its operations and expand into new product categories to meet growing nutrition demand in India and overseas.
Ace International added that the Kuppam facility will work with more than 40,000 farmers, including many women, through sourcing partnerships aimed at improving rural livelihoods and promoting gender equity across the supply chain.
“The investment in ACE fits FMO’s strategy to invest in sustainably managed businesses that focus on value creation in the food sector. The consortium’s investment will enable the company to further expand its smallholder farmer supply chain from some 49,000 smallholders now to more than 80,000 by 2030,” said Peter Bryde, Director Private Equity of FMO.
ACE provides ingredient solutions to partners in the food, beverage, and health sectors. Over the past three decades, the company has grown from a family-owned business into an end-to-end food ingredient supplier serving segments such as nutraceuticals, infant and sports nutrition, medical foods, beverages, and confectionery.
Inval Capital acted as the exclusive advisor to the transaction.
