Sunil Mittal-controlled Bharti Enterprises and US-based global investment firm Warburg Pincus have announced a strategic investment in Haier India, a subsidiary of China’s Haier Group. After the completion of the transaction, Bharti and Warburg Pincus will both acquire a 49 per cent stake in the consumer appliances company.
Haier Group will continue to hold a 49 per cent stake in the unlisted Indian arm, while the remaining stake will be owned by Haier India’s management team. The companies did not disclose further details of the transaction, though industry executives peg Haier India’s enterprise value at around Rs 15,000 crore.
Announcing the deal, Bharti said the partnership would strengthen Haier India’s “Made in India, Made for India” strategy by deepening local sourcing, expanding manufacturing capacity, driving product innovation and accelerating market penetration. The capital infusion, it said, would also enhance Haier India’s competitiveness across the value chain.
India’s consumer appliances market is witnessing robust growth, supported by rising disposable incomes, changing lifestyles and increasing penetration of durables. Haier India is currently among the top three consumer durables companies in the country, with a diversified product portfolio spanning air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions, washing machines and kitchen appliances. Over the past seven years, the company has clocked a compound annual growth rate of about 25 per cent in India — among the highest in the industry — driven by strong performance across product categories and regions.
Haier India initiated the manufacturing of refrigerators in India in 2007 at its factory in Ranjangaon, Pune, which was further expanded into the company’s first industrial park in India. It also set up one of the biggest industrial parks in DMIC Integrated Industrial Township, Greater Noida, to produce home appliances and its related components.
“The company looks forward to playing a significant role in the evolving consumer durables industry and leveraging the collective strengths of all parties to meet the needs of Indian consumers,” Bharti said. The company said it is confident that Haier India will further consolidate its standing as a leading brand in India.
“This investment reflects Warburg Pincus’s ability to leverage its pan-Asia franchise, deep local insights, global expertise, and its expansive network to support and accelerate growth for leading companies across the region,” it said in a statement. “The collaboration with Bharti Enterprises and Warburg Pincus marks an important milestone in Haier India’s development journey. The strategic partnership fully embodies Haier’s approach of “serving globalization with global capabilities and advancing globalization through localization,” it said.
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Bharti Enterprises is one of India’s leading business conglomerates with interests in telecommunications, digital infrastructure, space communications, financial services, real estate, data centres, hospitality and food processing. Bharti Airtel, its flagship company, is a leading global communications solutions provider with over 600 million customers in 15 countries across India and Africa, with an additional presence in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka through its associate entities.
Globally, Airtel ranks among the top three mobile operators with its networks covering over two billion people and is the second largest mobile operator in Africa, providing telecommunications and mobile money services across 14 countries.
Warburg Pincus LLC is the pioneer of global growth investing formed in 1966. Today, the company has more than $85 billion in assets under management, and over 215 companies in their active portfolio, diversified across stages, sectors, and geographies. Warburg Pincus has invested in more than 1,000 companies across its private equity, real estate, and capital solutions strategies.
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