KOCHI: The Meeran brothers — Navas and Feroz — are cashing in big time from their long association with Orkla India, the company behind household food brands MTR and Eastern Condiments.
In the past 12-18 months, the duo has pocketed over Rs 75 crore from the Norwegian major — including a fat Rs 60 crore dividend and another Rs 16–17 crore expected from the company’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO).
According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with SEBI, the brothers are offloading a small 1.67% stake in Orkla India through the IPO, which opens for subscription on October 28 and closes on October 31. The offer is entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) — with no fresh shares being issued — and priced in the range of Rs 695–Rs 730 per share. Based on the price band, the siblings will together net about Rs 16–17 crore from selling 1,14,118 shares each.
The IPO, which also involves the company’s foreign promoter Orkla Asia Pacific Pte, will list on the BSE and NSE on November 6, following the finalisation of allotments on November 3.
This windfall comes on the back of a massive Rs 600 crore dividend declared by Orkla India earlier this year. Of that, Orkla Asia Pacific, which holds 90%, walked away with about Rs 540 crore, while the Meerans, each holding 5%, received Rs 30 crore apiece — a payout that exceeded the company’s FY25 net profit of Rs 255.69 crore, according to SEBI filings.
Sources said the brothers’ partial offloading in the IPO is a compliance move, as minority promoters are required to dilute a portion of their holding alongside the parent entity.
The Kochi-based Meerans became part of the Orkla fold in 2020, when the Norway-headquartered group acquired a 67.8% stake in Eastern Condiments Pvt Ltd, Kerala’s oldest masala brand, in a Rs 1,500-crore deal.
Five years on, as Orkla India readies for its market debut, the brothers’ partnership with the Scandinavian food giant continues to be a richly rewarding one, adding up to more than Rs 75 crore in just one year or so.
