Kishore Biyani to buy Nilgiris

Kishore Biyani-owned Future Group is negotiating with private equity firm Actis Capital to acquire a stake in Nilgiris, a Bangalore-based supermarket. Nilgiris is India’s oldest organised retail chain and was founded in 1905.

This acquisition would give Biyani a control over 140 supermarkets in south India, a market that the Future Group is keen to boost its presence.  Nilgiris has an annual turnover of Rs 700 crore, and about 60-70 per cent of its stores are run on a franchise basis.

In 2006, UK-based Actis had bought a 65 per cent stake in this supermarket chain for about $ 65 million.