FILA acquires 185 stake in RR Groups Writefine Products AZB ANS and Salonia advise

Italy-based Fabbrica Italiana Lapis ed Affini (FILA) and RR Group, a leading Indian group dealing in stationery products have entered into a Joint Venture agreement through the acquisition by FILA of a 18.5 percent stake in Writefine Products Pvt. Ltd (WFPL) with the option to increase its stake up to 50 percent.

AZB & Partners advised FILA with a team led by Partner Alka Nalavadi while Salonia & Associati acted as International legal advisors.

ANS Law Associates advised RR Group with a team led by Partner Sharad Abhyankar.

Abhyankar has recently left ANS Law Associates and has joined the Mumbai office of Khaitan & Co. as a Partner in the corporate and commercial team.

The transaction with WFPL will allow FILA to access one of the largest education markets. In addition, this transaction will allow FILA to establish a strong presence in India and other key emerging countries such as Sri Lanka, Middle East, amongst others, according to the press release.

FILA’s investment will boost the growth of WFPL by focusing on the development of DOMS brand, FILA’s brands and strategically expanding its private label business.

FILA was established in 1920 and is involved in the production of writing and drawing instruments. FILA manages more than twenty categories of products through a multinational structure that currently includes five production facilities and fourteen commercial offices worldwide.

Through WFPL, RR Group is India’s leading manufacturer of wooden pencils, polymer pencils, colour pencils, wax crayons, sharpeners, erasers, pens, sketch pens, geometry boxes and mathematical instruments. RR Group’s DOMS brand is one of the fastest growing brands in its product category.