FMCG major ITC has acquired a 39% stake in Sproutlife Foods by acquiring 2,443 equity shares of Rs 10 each and 7,215 mandatory convertible preference shares of Rs 10 each for a total consideration of Rs 175 crore, the company said in a BSE filing.

Accordingly, ITC’s interest in Sproutlife amounts to 39.42% of its share capital on a fully diluted basis.

ITC said it would acquire 100% of Yoga Bar health food maker Sproutlife Foods Private Limited in early January this year.

The company has signed a binding term sheet to acquire 100% of Sproutlife’s equity capital (on a fully diluted basis) in tranches, which is expected to be completed within three to four years.

Over the past year, ITC has invested in D2C brands Mylo and Mother Sparsh, acquiring Yoga Bar, which has a solid online presence.

The co-founder of Yoga Bar claimed in January that the move would increase the Bengaluru-based start-up’s competitive edge and boost its annual turnover to over Rs 100 crore. Suhasini and Anindita Sampath Kumar said: “We are delighted to partner with ITC to drive the next phase of Yoga Bar’s growth. ITC has a long history of building world-class brands, leveraging its core competencies, including a superior understanding of consumers, Strong backward linkages in the agricultural supply chain and a deep and wide distribution network. We are delighted that ITC and Yoga Bar will join forces to create one of the largest brands in the healthy food space.”

The deal will help ITC expand its future-proof product portfolio and increase market presence in the “Good for You” segment, which currently includes Aashirvaad Multi-Grain Atta, Aashirvaad Nature’s Super Foods, Farmlite range of biscuits, Sunfeast Protein Shake, B Natural Nutrilite ABC drinks and more.

Founded by the sisters in 2014, Yoga Bar aims to provide Indian audiences with a brand of healthy and filling snacks. Yoga Bar’s sales mainly come from its website and e-commerce platform. However, it also has some offline retail touchpoints.

Shares of ITC rose more than 1.5% after the report, with the stock hitting an all-time high of Rs 431.90 on the BSE.

Last week, ITC, which operates in sectors including cigarettes, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), hotels and paper, overtook Infosys in market capitalization to become India’s sixth most valuable company. As of May 5, the m-cap for the FMCG major is Rs 5,35336.86.