The Venture Intelligence Blog

From the Times of India profile of the company which recently raised capital from StanChart Private Equity: Two years into the business and Privi had not yet created a sufficient client base, pushing it to the verge of shutting down. In 1994, its losses eroded its equity and the company's prime creditor, State Industrial & Investment Corporation Of Maharashtra (SICOM), served a notice to take over. "We briefly thought of quitting and trying something else," Rao says. "But then we decided to fight it out rather than accept failure." Those days, the big players in aroma chemicals were Bush Boake Allen, Reckitt & Colman of India, Hindustan Lever, Hindustan Polyamides and Fibres, and Tata Oil Mills Company (Tomco). The partners did their best to turn around the business. They brought down operational costs, switched to synthetic raw materials and negotiated for cost-effective order sizes. The firm also changed its strategy. "Rather than just catering t...

Edited excerpts from the Press Release: Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has invested Rs.850 million in Privi Organic s, one of India’s leading aroma chemical manufacturer and exporter. Mumbai-based Privi exports its products to over 25 countries and has established itself as a key supplier to several of the world's largest fragrance and flavours companies. This funding will part finance the growth plans of the company’s business through expansion of manufacturing facilities at Mahad, Maharashtra and also support key backward integration projects. Rahul Raisurana, Managing Director, Standard Chartered Private Equity, said, "The aroma chemicals space presents significant opportunities for Indian companies, as India emerges as a key manufacturing center for aromatic and speciality chemicals. We have found Privi Organics to be the right partner because of its strong chemistry skills and quality manufacturing strengths that are well recognized by its global customer bas...