Brands
ITC seals Rs 3,500 crore deal for Century Pulp and Paper
MUMBAI: ITC has inked a business transfer agreement to acquire the pulp and paper division of Aditya Birla Real Estate Ltd (ABREL) for Rs 3,500 crore. The deal, structured as a slump sale on a cash-free, debt-free basis, brings Century Pulp and Paper (CPP) into ITC’s fold, bolstering its footprint in the paper and packaging game.
Established in 1984 in Lalkuan, Uttarakhand, CPP boasts an installed capacity of 4.8 lakh metric tonnes per year. With India’s paper demand growing at six to seven per cent annually and per capita consumption at a mere 16 kg (compared to the global average of 57 kg), ITC is betting big on the sector’s headroom for growth.
This acquisition is a strategic masterstroke. ITC’s paperboards and specialty papers division, already a heavyweight with an annual output exceeding 1 million metric tonnes, will gain instant scale and efficiencies. A new production hub means better customer service, proximity to raw materials and, crucially, operational resilience. ITC plans to turbocharge CPP’s profitability with a mix of capacity de-bottlenecking, product upgrades, efficiency drives, supply chain tweaks, and procurement muscle.
The deal is subject to regulatory nods, including clearance from the Competition Commission of India and the ministry of environment, forest and climate Change. It is expected to be wrapped up in about six months.
ITC executive director B Sumant said: “This move strengthens our market position and unlocks fresh opportunities in both domestic and global markets. Our new asset aligns perfectly with our strategy to drive the next horizon of growth.”
With this bold play, ITC is not just expanding—it’s redefining its game in paper and packaging.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
