Hyderabad, India; San Francisco; and Fort Worth, Texas – May 3, 2017 – The Rise Fund, a global fund committed to achieving measureable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns, today announced it has agreed to invest $50M in Dodla Dairy Limited (Dodla), a fresh dairy product company offering a wide range of milk products throughout South India. The investment in Dodla, which is subject to regulatory approval, will be The Rise Fund’s first in the food and agriculture sector, as well as its first in India. The Rise Fund is managed by TPG Growth, the growth equity and middle market buyout fund of global alternative asset firm TPG. The Rise Fund focuses on investments in seven sectors: education, energy, food and agriculture, financial services, growth infrastructure, healthcare, and technology, media, and telecommunications. Each sector is managed by a sector lead who works closely with the investing teams. Joy Basu leads The Rise Fund’s Food and Agriculture Sector Team.

Founded in 1995 by D. Sesha Reddy and D. Sunil Reddy, Dodla procures and processes fresh milk to sell high-quality dairy products across 66 regions in South India. In addition to its core product, fresh packaged liquid milk, Dodla’s offerings include popular foods such as curd, butter, and ghee. Working with more than 3,000 distributors across 9 states, Dodla’s products are sold by more than 50,000 retail outlets across the country.

Due to the high perishability of dairy products, nearly all of Dodla’s milk is procured locally from smallholder farmers. Dodla’s partnership with farmers and local distribution networks drive the company’s business strategy and social impact. Dodla sources milk from 250,000 farmers across 7,000 villages every day of the year. The Rise Fund seeks to support the company in operating its procurement network fairly, transparently, and efficiently—supporting farmers’ needs, as well as bolstering the company’s success. For instance, the company has created a farmer engagement program that helps many of its supplying farmers gain access to critical inputs, such as affordable animal feed and veterinary services. Moreover, working with regional banks, Dodla has helped more than 2,300 farmers secure financing to invest in their production capabilities.

“India has more dairy farmers than any other country, and is the world’s largest and fastest-growing producer of milk. Yet many of the small farmers who produce that milk do not have access to the basic tools and networks necessary to sustainably and reliably generate profits. As a result, most of India’s smallholders are only earning a few dollars a day, surviving on the brink of poverty,” said Bill McGlashan, TPG Growth Founder and Managing Partner and Co-Founder and CEO of The Rise Fund. “Investments that facilitate stronger and more efficient market links in this food value chain can help to significantly reduce rural poverty. With its conscientiously designed procurement strategy, Dodla is helping to meet this important need.”

“Our procurement strategy—working closely with thousands of local farmers to bring our product to market—has helped us not only reach our leading position in the marketplace, but also positively impact our local communities,” said Sunil Reddy, Founder of Dodla. “We feel proud and fortunate to put forward a high-quality product that also helps our suppliers thrive. We are excited to partner with The Rise Fund to extend our reach and accelerate our growth.”

“India’s dairy consumption has been experiencing robust growth, fueled by urbanization, increasing incomes, and health consciousness among consumers,” said Vish Narain, Partner at TPG Growth. “Dodla is well-positioned to capitalize on these growth trends. It has a strong management team, an established presence in local markets, and an expanding selection of products. We look forward to working with Dodla to enhance its brand and grow its platform.”

TPG has been investing in India since 2002. TPG Growth’s other recent investments in India include Cancer Treatment Services International, an emerging end-to-end provider of cancer treatment services; Lenskart, an online business that markets and sells optical products, watches, and bags; and Rhea Healthcare, which operates a network of mother and child care centers in India under the ‘Motherhood’ brand. In 2014, TPG Capital Asia invested in Janalakshmi Financial Services, India’s largest microfinance institution.

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About Dodla Dairy

Dodla Dairy Limited is a leading dairy company headquartered in Hyderabad, India. The company procures, processes, and sells dairy products, including fresh milk, butter, ghee, paneer, curd, flavored milk, doodh peda, ice cream, and skimmed milk powder across 66 regions in South India. Dodla was co-founded by D. Sesha Reddy and D. Sunil Reddy in 1995.

About The Rise Fund

The Rise Fund is a global fund committed to achieving measureable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns—what we call “complete returns.” The Rise Fund is managed by TPG Growth, the global growth equity and middle market buyout platform of alternative asset firm TPG. TPG Growth Founder and Managing Partner Bill McGlashan, U2 lead singer Bono, a well-known activist and a special partner with TPG Growth, and Jeff Skoll, a global entrepreneur, film producer, and impact investor, co-founded The Rise Fund. They were joined by a group of influential thought leaders with a deep personal and professional commitment to driving social and environmental progress, who came together to form the Founders Board. The Rise Fund’s objectives align with the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals. The Rise Fund invests in education, energy, food and agriculture, financial services, growth infrastructure, healthcare, and technology, media, and telecommunications companies that deliver complete returns.

About TPG Growth

TPG Growth is the global growth equity and middle market buyout platform of alternative asset firm TPG. With over $8.3 billion of assets under management, TPG Growth targets investments in a broad range of industries and geographies. TPG Growth has the deep sector knowledge, operational resources, and global experience to drive value creation, and help companies reach their full potential. The firm is backed by the resources of TPG, which has approximately $72 billion of assets under management. TPG Growth's current and past investments include Airbnb, Domo, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Lenskart, Noodle Analytics, SurveyMonkey, and Uber. TPG Growth’s other investments in India include AGS Transact Technologies, Flexituff, and Sutures India Pvt Ltd. For more information, visit www.tpg.com.

Media Contact

The Rise Fund
Ellen Gonda 
(415) 743-1550
media@tpg.com