Reliance Retail in talks with Berkshire unit for India JV

Reuters: Reliance Retail is in talks with international frozen food retailer Dairy Queen Inc, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathway, for a joint venture in India, the Times of India reported on Tuesday.

A tie-up between the two companies would help Reliance Retail become a serious player in the Indian frozen foods market and help it scale up its dairy operations, the newspaper said, quoting unnamed sources.

Reliance Retail is the retail arm of energy major Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

A spokesman at Reliance Retail declined to comment on the report.

Reliance currently operates a dairy business under Dairy Pure brand, retailing milk through Reliance Retail stores and outside retailers in some northern and southern states.

Dairy Queen, which operates a chain of about 6,000 outlets worldwide, is looking to expand aggressively in the Middle East asn Asian markets, the paper said.