Lotte Confectionery has acquired a 100 percent stake in a leading Indian ice cream company, the company said Thursday.

Lotte acquired 1 million shares of the ice cream manufacturer Havmor for 1,020 crore rupees ($157.9 million). The company, established in 1944, currently holds the second-largest market share in India.

Lotte Confecionery plans to grow Havmore’s presence in the Indian market and to create synergies with its products already in the Indian market such as Choco Pie, gum and candy.


India is a major emerging market eyed by the Korean conglomerate, which may invest between $3 billion and $5 billion in the market over the next five years, according to a Bloomberg report.

Citing an anonymous source, the report said that Lotte “intends to invest in retail, chemicals, food processing and real estate, as well as develop railway platforms in the country.”

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)