Berger Paints India Ltd is eyeing acquisition of companies in China, Sri Lanka, west Africa and west Asia.

Kuldip Singh Dhingra, chairman, Berger Paints, said on Thursday: "Berger Paints is more hungry for expansion than ever before. Rapid expansion can be achieved only through acquisition of companies. Taking over a company in the current global scenario costs less than setting up greenfield projects."

The search for suitable acquisition was on, he said, adding that the company was receiving proposals from these countries at regular intervals.

Berger would go aggressively for funding big acquisitions if they were found viable.

"The company has got healthy reserves. In addition, it will not hesitate to raise money from available sources including a rights issue," he said. The acquisition-based growth strategy holds good at home as well. However, there was no concrete proposal yet, he said.

Reacting to the market perception that Berger was inching towards taking over Jenson & Nicholson, Dhingra said the huge debt burden of the latter made the acquisition unattractive. When reminded that J&N had announced that it was slashing debt, he said: "Let them come out with a restructured package."

Berger Paints managing director Subir Bose supplemented the views expressed by Dhingra, adding that the company was also open to technology tie-ups.

The company has recently tied up with an Australian firm, Orica, for outsourcing technology for protective coatings. It has also signed up with Tigerwerk of Austria for powder coatings.

Bose said the company, which enjoyed a 12 per cent share of the paints industry, was putting emphasis on retail sales. As a part, it was penetrating into rural markets, hitherto neglected by paint companies.