Is the Chennai-based Gandhimathi Appliances, which sells products under the Butterfly brand, changing hands? Speculation is rife in the market that Crompton Greaves Consumer Ltd and Havells are in the race to acquire Butterfly, a household name in the kitchen appliances market.

Speculation on the sale of Gandhimathi Appliances has been going on for the past five years but it was not pursued due to valuation issues. With the company’s stock price at over ₹1,000 on the BSE currently, a section of the company’s number one family feels this may be the right time to exit.

Market chatter

In fact, Crompton Greaves Consumer, on February 14, got an approval from their shareholders to invest ₹1,300 crore in a company. However, there was no mention of the company's name in the resolution. But, the word on the street is that it could be Gandhimathi Appliances.

BusinessLine reached out to Havells India and Gandhimathi Appliances. While the latter did not respond to our queries, a Havells India spokesperson said, "As a policy, we do not comment on rumours.” Media reports suggested that Gandhimathi Appliances is evaluating its options and will take a decision soon.

Established in 1986 by late V Murugesa Chettiar, Gandhimathi Appliances is one of the leading manufacturers of kitchen and electrical appliances in the country under the “Butterfly” brand. Its products are sold across the country through distributors, direct dealers, modern trade, online channels and gas dealer channel. Butterfly is also ranked number one in the Stainless Steel LPG Stoves and table top wet grinders. It is among the top three in domestic kitchen appliances and present in all the Indian states with an exclusive distributor.

Q3 performance

For the third quarter ended December 31, 2021, the company reported a net profit of ₹9 crore as against ₹18.5 crore in the same period last year — a decline of 51.7 per cent. Revenues, too, declined by 13 per cent to ₹258.5 crore (₹297.9 crore).

On the BSE, scrips of Butterfly Gandhimathi hit the lower circuit and closed at ₹1,171.05.

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