By Dhanya Ann Thoppil
BANGALORE--U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. said Monday it
has agreed to acquire the Sunflower brand of vanaspati cooking oil
from India's Wipro Ltd. (507685.BY).
The acquisition is limited to the brand, Cargill said in a
statement.
It didn't provide other details, including the price it agreed
to pay.
A spokesman for Wipro declined to comment.
Cargill already produces and markets vanaspati in India under
brands Rath, NatureFresh Purita and Gemini.
Wipro was founded nearly seven decades ago as a producer of
vanaspati, which is popular for cooking in India. It later
diversified into medical devices, information technology and
consumer products such as modular furniture, soaps, detergents and
diapers.
Wipro gets more than three-fourths of its revenue from
information technology and is India's third-largest IT company by
sales.
The Bangalore-based company is in the process of separating its
consumer-care and lighting-product business into a separate
unit.
The latest deal comes two days after Wipro struck an all-cash
deal to buy 100% of Singapore-headquartered consumer products firm
L.D. Waxsons Group for $144 million.
Monday, Wipro's shares ended 0.6% higher at 381.85 rupees on the
Bombay Stock Exchange, where the benchmark index closed flat.
Write to Dhanya Ann Thoppil at dhanya.thoppil@dowjones.com
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