Yogi who took on Unilever plans IPOs to build US$62b empire

PATANJALI Group, which is run by the yoga guru Ramdev, is aiming for a combined market value of US$62.7 billion by listing 4 more companies on Indian exchanges over the next 5 years.

Ramdev, who goes by one name but is popularly known as Baba Ramdev, told reporters on Friday (Sep16) that the food-to-wellness group will float initial public offerings for Patanjali Ayurved, Patanjali Wellness, Patanjali Medicine and Patanjali Lifestyle. Without giving a timeline, Ramdev said he also wants a pretax profit of 50 billion rupees (S$883.4 million) for his Patanjali Foods, which was already listed.

Ramdev’s ambitious plan in India’s fast-moving consumer goods sector hinges on using his personal brand as a spiritual guru to sell products promising natural and Ayurveda-based remedies. Patanjali has grown quickly over the past decade, but the company has yet to unseat Hindustan Unilever as an industry leader, something Ramdev had aimed to achieve by 2019.

The companies’ products have often faced controversy for their lofty promises. In 2020, the Indian government directed Patanjali to stop claiming that its product “Corona Kit,” which is comprised of herbal medicines, can cure Covid-19. On Friday, Ramdev reiterated that his products were natural.

Patanjali sells more than 500 products, from cow urine (which some believe has medicinal properties) to food and beauty items. The group has annual sales of 400 billion rupees and aims to increase that number to 1 trillion rupees in the next five to seven years, Ramdev said. BLOOMBERG