Everstone's packaged foods platform to buy Indian arm of Cookie Man

The Coca-Cola Company has formed a new international group called Global Ventures. The unit is created to focus on ensuring maximum value from acquisitions and investments.

James Quincey, Coca-Cola Global Chief Executive Officer, said, "Acquisitions will continue to be an important tool for the company. This group will partner with colleagues around the world to identify and nurture the next series of fast-growing opportunities. We have created the group to ensure we properly connect and globally scale key acquisitions."

Coca-Cola, Nestle and Unilever are in the due diligence stage for acquiring GlaxoSmithKline Consumer's $4 billion Indian nutrition business, which includes malt beverages Horlicks and Boost.

"As with all M&As, completing the acquisition is only the first step. What is critical is accelerating our results and executing with precision," Quincey further said.

Seeking a larger market share that is gradually seeing local or family owned brands selling out to multinationals, Hindustan Unilever has announced to acquire Karnataka based ice-cream brand Adityaa from Vijaykant Dairy and Food Products Limited (VDFPL) for an undisclosed amount.

The maker of Kwality Walls ice-cream said it will also get the brand's front end distribution network across geographies and the acquisition is line with the company's strategic intent to strengthen its position in the category. "“Ice creams and frozen desserts is an exciting category and we see great potential for growth. We believe the acquisition will complement our existing portfolio of Kwality Wall’s,” said Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman at HUL.

Having established in Karnataka, Adityaa Milk has gradually expanded into Maharashtra, Goa and Kerala. Post the sell-out, VDFPL will continue to pursue its dairy business. HUL said VDFPL will manage the business until the transaction is completed, and will also continue to manufacture for them for an agreed period of time.

Last month, Hindustan Unilever combined its foods and refreshments business into one division in an effort to increase agility, in line with the global category structure of parent Unilever. In the Rs 12,000 crore ice-cream market, HUL is the second largest player after Amul with share of over 8% according to Euromonitor.

At present, a handful of national players with big marketing and distribution muscle such as Amul, Mother Dairy, Vadilal’s or HUL’s Walls even Havmore are jostling for retail space countrywide while smaller regional players who collectively still control half the market are clinging on to their different pockets of dominance.

Since HUL took over Kwality ice cream in phases after buying the trademark in 1994 or even after Malaysian PE firm Navis lapped up Nirula’s in 2006 for Rs 90 crore. However, the market is fast evolving. Many family owned brands including Vadilal and JSF Holdings that sells under the best selling Uncle John, Skei and Lazza are taking a hard look at their prospects in the backdrop of fast changing consumer habits and before facing any meltdown. Late November, Lotte Confectionary scooped up the Havmor – the country’s seventh largest ice cream brand -- for Rs 1020 crore in an all cash deal.

Two brands announced their India entry in 2015 seeing the potential market of the country, Nestle-owned premium ice cream brand Mövenpick and Arizona-based Cold Stone Creamery. The market is expected to grow at a value CAGR of 20% for next 5 years. In 2013, even Unilever’s brought its top grosser from Europe, the premium Magnum ice cream bars.

Kraft Heinz Co. has cut down the number of bidders for a portfolio of Indian businesses it’s selling that includes the children’s milk drink Complan, people with knowledge of the matter said.

India’s biggest conglomerate,Tata Group and Dabur India Ltd., the $11.3 billion consumer-goods company, are among suitors selected for the second round of bidding, according to the people. The sale has also drawn interest from an arm of Cadila Healthcare Ltd. and other potential buyers, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Kraft Heinz has been seeking about $1 billion for the assets, the people said. Besides Complan, the selling Indian business products include the Glucon D instant energy drink, Nycil talcum powder and Sampriti clarified butter, the people said.

Kraft Heinz extended gains in New York trading Friday, rising 5.9 percent to $62.90 at 9:54 a.m. after earlier touching $63.04. That’s the biggest intraday jump since May.

Tata Group is considering doing any potential deal through listed unit Tata Global Beverages Ltd., according to one of the people. Spokesmen for Tata Group, Dabur and Tata Global Beverages declined to comment. Representatives for Kraft Heinz and Cadila didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Any transaction would add to the $11.9 billion of acquisitions targeting the Indian consumer industry this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Kraft Heinz is bringing Complan to market as U.K. pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline Plc weighs selling its stake in its Indian consumer health subsidiary, which owns malted milk brand Horlicks.

One of the persons in the know of the matter said, "The price sought by Kraft Heinz translates into more than 20 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Some potential bidders have balked at the valuation, due to what they see as lower growth prospects for certain products amid changing consumer tastes in India, the people said.

There’s no confirmation of suitors to proceed with binding offers, and Kraft Heinz could decide to keep the business, according to the people.

Dutch beermaker Heineken has decided to invest $3.1 billion to earn stake in China's top brewer, marking its entry in Asian giant's booming and hotly contested market, the two groups announced Friday.

Heineken has signed a "non-binding" agreement with China Resources Beer to acquire 40 percent of CRH, the listed entity controlling the Chinese group, for a total of 24.35 billion Hong Kong dollars, according to a statement.

In return, China Resources Beer will buy a 0.9 percent stake in Heineken for 464 million euros ($537 million).

The Dutch firm, which operates three breweries in the country, will merge its operations in China with those of its new partner.

Heineken will also grant its partner permission to market its eponymous beer brand in the country.

The deal allows Beijing-based China Resources Beer, known above all for low-cost brands like Snow Beer, to add a well-known premium brand to its line-up.

The merger of Heineken and its Chinese partner signals the growing competition in the Chinese market, with consumers turning towards foreign beers and better quality products as middle class incomes rise.

China market which is dominated by local brewers has three Chinese groups controlling more than 40 percent of the market, according to figures from Euromonitor International cited by Bloomberg News.

China Resources recently controlled 18 percent of the country's beer sales, followed by number two competitor Tsingtao.

The inclusion of Denmark's Carlsberg and Belgium's AB Inbev are putting pressure on prices and lowering margins, intensifying the rivalries between international giants. The pressure has prompted certain foreign groups to withdraw, including Japan's Asahi.

China, the world's largest market for beer production, "is forecast to be the biggest contributor to premium volume growth in the next five years, driven by its rapidly growing middle class," Heineken said in its release.

CEO Jean-Francois van Boxmeer praised the "winning combination" of Heineken's "strong brand" and China Resources Beer's extensive distribution network in the country.

Amazon's online payments processing arm Amazon Pay has confirmed to partner with Dominos to enable customers on Domino's online platforms to make payments using Amazon Pay along with offers, weekend deals and cashbacks.

Customers are looking for convenience, fast delivery, easy checkouts, quicker refunds and a secured shopping experience and this tie-up is a natural progression for both players, the company said in a statement.

"We are happy to partner with Dominos Pizza to extend the trusted and convenient Amazon Pay experience for customers," said Manesh Mahatme, Director, Acceptance and Merchant Payments, Amazon Pay.

Amazon Pay's availability on Dominos' apps is being made available for both, Android and iOS users.

"With this partnership, we are also extending our commitment to transform the customer experience both within and outside our restaurants," said Kapil Grover, Chief Marketing Officer, Domino's Pizza India.

Food delivery firm Swiggy has acquired Mumbai-based on-demand delivery firm Scootsy in what is being seen as a distress sale.

The deal is valued at about Rs 50 crore (under $8 million) which is expected to close all in cash and retention of Scootsy’s brand name in Mumbai, said three people aware of the developments.

Scootsy’s founding team may be joining Swiggy’s management, said one of the persons. ET could not however independently verify this. The acquisition was first reported by Moneycontrol.com.

Founded in 2015 as an on-demand delivery platform in Mumbai, Scootsy has so far raised about Rs 25 crore so far from Agnus Capital and Khattar Holdings.

While the firm aggregates premium dining options catering to a niche, premium, high ticket size food delivery play in the city, about 25-30% of its business comes from non-food hyperlocal delivery operations including daily essentials, flower and gifting.

Heavy capital flow in the food delivery segment amongst the top national players rendered Scootsy helpless in its attempts to raise capital over the past year.

A large part of the cash component of the deal will be used to pay salaries of Scootsy’s employees who haven’t been paid for over 3 months, according to one of the persons cited above. Swiggy and Scootsy did not immediately respond to ET’s email queries.

“The funding crunch has almost crippled Scootsy. The strength of riders has reduced impacting deliveries and the lack of capital has hit the business hard,” said a person directly aware of the development.

Scootsy currently has under 700 delivery agents in Mumbai across its food and non-food delivery operations delivering around 2000 orders per day. The firm has a strong hold in South Mumbai, Lower Parel and some parts of Bandra where several premium dining restaurants are located.

Swiggy delivers about 5,00,000 orders per day and has a fleet size of 55,000 all over the country.

Swiggy, which has been targeting hyperlocal market, the deal adds value through Scootsy’s premium customer base, which it is looking to tap into for other delivery categories as well.

US based Coffee maker Starbucks Corp and China’s e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd are partnering for coffee delivery, according to media reports, in a bid to make up for its sales slump in the once-booming China market.

The move was hinted at by the former Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz this month who suggested that a tie-up with Alibaba's billionaire founder Jack Ma could be on the horizon.

The deal’s formal announcement is expected to be made later this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

In a period ending on July 1, Starbucks quarterly sales in China saw a 2 percent slump, a steep departure from the 7 percent growth in the same period of the corresponding year.

The Seattle-based cafe chain blamed a crackdown on unapproved third-party delivery services for much of the slowdown, as well as cannibalization of its own stores with the retailer's rapid expansion in the Chinese market.

Increased competition from fast-growing rivals like China's Luckin, which has already opened more than 660 outlets in 13 Chinese cities since officially launching in January, has also pressured Starbucks' 3,400-store operation.

In its third quarter earnings call, Starbucks admitted to an "underperformance" in China, and said it was making progress on plans for delivery there, starting this fall in Beijing and Shanghai.

Wall Street foresees a partnership with Alibaba's food delivery arm, Ele.me, to rebound Starbucks sales dip. Starbucks aims to almost double its number of stores in China by 2022.

"An imminent announcement of a delivery solution is an important first step, as is a roll out of mobile ordering," which is not yet in China, Sharon Zackfia, an analyst for William Blair, wrote in a research note.

"While the margin implications of third-party delivery are unclear, no margin is worse than that of a lost sale," Zackfia said.

Starbucks shares were down 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $51.86 in afternoon trading. They are down nearly 10 percent since the beginning of the year.

Delhi-based startup Original Ice Creams today said it has raised Rs 3 crore in equity funding from Maverick group for a 30 per cent stake in the company.

"Three of our outlets are already operational and we were able to achieve break even in the first month itself. We have planned to open 30 more outlets in the NCR region by 2019-20," Original Ice creams founder Vinay Gaur said.

He added that the company will use the finance for expanding retail distribution into other cities of northern India, including Lucknow, Jaipur and Chandigarh.

Nanotech startup Log 9 raises Rs 3 cr

Bengaluru based nanotechnology startup Log 9 Materials today said it has raised around Rs 3 crore from Metaform Ventures and others.

The pre series - A funding also saw participation from Hemant Luthra (Chairman, Mahindra CIE), GEMS and other angel investors, the company said in a statement.

Log 9 will be using the latest funds to strengthen its commercial operations and patented product portfolio, as well as boosting R&D activities extensively, it added.

Data science expert Nuria Oliver joins Comviva Board .

Mobility solutions provider Comviva today said data science expert Nuria Oliver has joined its advisory board.

Oliver is director of research in data science at Vodafone, chief data scientist at Data-Pop Alliance and chief scientific advisor for the Vodafone Institute, Comviva said in a statement.

"She will work with the Comviva leadership team, providing strategic recommendations on the company's existing portfolio and new initiatives. She will also provide her expertise on strategic alliances and investments," it added.

YourNest Angel Fund-backed SmartQ, a food-tech startup, has acquired Nexus Venture Partners-backed Goodbox’s cafeteria business for an undisclosed sum. SmartQ expects to increase its customer base with this acquisition, while by offloading its cafeteria business, Goodbox wants to focus on its hyperlocal business.

As per sources, the deal size is around $8,00,000 (Rs 5.50 crore) and is a complete cash deal. SmartQ declined to divulge the deal size.

“We have sold our cafeteria business to SmartQ. We wanted to focus on the hyperlocal business and are exiting the cafeteria solution as it is non-core to us now” said Abey Zachariah, CEO, Goodbox. He further said that Goodbox is doing very well in hyperlocal commerce.

Noida-based student housing startup Placio has raised $50,000 in seed funding for its new venture in subscription-based food delivery system.

The company acquired a subscription-based food startup Paco Meals. With this move, it will help Paco Meals with the technology.

The takeover of Paco Meal provides Placio with an edge of talented culinary professionals,  and state-of-the-art facilities to develop menus that meet a multitude of tastes and deliver food beyond expectations.

“Placio intends to transform student living with nutritious and tasty food. With our deep understanding of the student market, we realise that nutrition and food play an important role in transformative living and learning experience. This is part of our vision for making students feels safe, involved and inspired. The good news is that Placio now extends this outlook to even students living in non-Placio properties. Taking over Paco Meals will now make us realize our dreams -- by an unrestricted provision of meals to all students in other student housing also," said Rohit Pateria and Ankush Arora, co-founders of Placio.

Paco Meals focuses on ‘3As appearance, aroma and appetite’ targeting delicious, innovative, sustainable, healthy food options. The company ensures the menu will not be repeated at least for 3 months and also brings the ‘taste of home’ to meals as students are invited to bring their favourite recipes from home, especially those for vegetarian and ethnic dishes.

“We understand the needs of bachelors and students as we have experienced the unappetising meals’ during our stay in college hostels. This unpleasant experience led to my startup in 2016 to provide wholesome and nutritious meals at subsidized prices for bachelors and students who were on a lean budget. Placio today has given me an opportunity to provide the residents and students with hygienic and nutritious meals filled with variety and flavour at all Placio’s housing in Delhi, Greater Noida, Noida Laxmi Nagar, Indore, and Lucknow," said Nitin Joshi and Parul Tusele, co-owners of Paco Meals.

Patanjali Ayurved will not back out from the race to acquire bankruptcy-bound Ruchi Soya and explore all options, including legal, to clinch the deal, its Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna said today.

Adani Wilmar, which sells cooking oil under the Fortune brand, and Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali are in the fray to acquire debt-ridden Ruchi Soya.

Adani has emerged as the highest bidder (H1) with an offer of about Rs 6,000 crore, while Patanjali's bid was worth around Rs 5,700 crore.

After Adani Wilmar emerged as H1, Patanjali Ayurved sought clarification from the RP (resolution professional) of Ruchi Soya related to eligibility of Adani Group to participate in the bidding process. It also sought to know the parameters adopted by the RP to declare Adani Wilmar as the highest bidder.

The Haridwar-based firm has also questioned the appointment of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as the RP's legal advisor as the said law firm was already advising Adani Group.

"We are waiting for the reply," Balkrishna said on the sidelines of an event here.

Asked whether the company would move court, he said: "We will not back out. We will do everything."

Last week, sources had said the RP sought 8-10 days' time to reply to the clarification sought by Patanjali.

Patanjali was asked to submit a revised bid by June 16 to match or better the highest offer of Rs 6,000 crore by Adani Wilmar under the Swiss Challenge system adopted by the RP and the committee of creditors.

However, Patanjali wrote to the RP seeking clarifications instead of submitting a fresh bid.

Under the Swiss Challenge method, Adani will get another chance to make an offer if Patanjali's revised bid exceeds the offer made by the former.

Patanjali Ayurved already has a tie-up with the Indore-based Ruchi Soya for edible oil refining and packaging and it wants to further expand its cooking oil business.

Ruchi Soya, which is facing the insolvency proceedings, has a total debt of about Rs 12,000 crore. The company has many manufacturing plants and its leading brands include Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Star and Ruchi Gold.

In December 2017, Ruchi Soya Industries entered into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and Shailendra Ajmera was appointed as the RP.

The appointment was made by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on the application of the creditors Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Gulabs, the makers of tasty and delectable hand-crafted Indian snacks has partnered with BigBasket, the leading online food and grocery store.

Under this partnership, customers in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad will be able to buy Gulabs products through the BigBasket.com website from the comforts of their home. The much sought after items of Gulabs such as Khakhras, Shartbats, Masalas and Pickles will be available at the website from now on.

Commenting on the partnership, Ruchika Gupta, VP – Sales and Marketing of Gulabs said, “BigBasket is a renowned player for online food and grocery shopping and the collaboration between Gulabs and BigBasket will let the consumers across different cities access our products in a jiffy. BigBasket’s strong foothold in these cities and our handcrafted beverages and snacks is a right combination to make this partnership a success.”

Gulabs Khakhras are available in Ajwain, Besan, Methi, Moongadi and Plain flavours. Shartbats come in Jeera, Lemon Ginger, Lemon, Paan, Pudina, Rose, Saunf and Thandai. In Masalas, there is a wide variety that includes Garam Masala, Malagapodi, Rasam masala, Rice podi, Sambar masala, Tea masala powder and Ukali. Tangy Lemon (oil free) flavour is available in Pickles.

Bulge-bracket private equity funds such as Blackstone and Carlyle are said to be competing with domestic and international strategic buyers such as Abbott, Emami, Wipro Consumer Care, Zydus Wellness and ITC to buy the consumer food division of the Kraft Heinz Co. in India. Intense competition and slowing growth in the consumer healthcare market has forced large multinational corporations to weigh the options on their existing businesses.

The sale could include the entire consumer healthcare business of Kraft Heinz in India, which includes top-selling brands such as Complan, Glucon-D, Nycil and Sampriti Ghee. The talks are currently at an exploratory stage.

JPMorgan and Lazard are working with Kraft Heinz to find a buyer in a deal valued at about $1 billion, multiple sources close to the deal told ET.

Rival GlaxoSmithKline has also put its consumer healthcare business in India, which includes its largest-selling brand Horlicks, on the block.

Headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh, the US firm bought Complan from Glaxo in 1994.

Controlled by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and private equity firm 3G Capital, Kraft Heinz reported better-than-expected profit in May. Management said it’s still eyeing acquisitions after Unilever NV spurned its takeover bid last year.

Blackstone and Carlyle declined to comment as did spokespersons of Abbott, Wipro and Emami. There was no response to emails sent to Kraft Heinz, Zydus Cadila and ITC.

The decision to sell the consumer business is also part of the merger between Kraft and Heinz in 2015. Controlled by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, Kraft was created two years ago after the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz. The company has 13 different brands with $500 m or more each in annual sales.

“The level of penetration and per-capita consumption of these FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) products are comparatively low,” said Harminder Sahni, managing director of retail consultancy firm, Wazir Advisors.

“Hence, the expectation is that these brands will be larger by 50-100 times in next 20 years, causing increased interest from strategic and PE investors.” As incomes rise, consumers will increasingly seek out branded products, boosting demand, he added.

Glaxo launched Complan, a powdered milk energy drink in 1954. Although the Complan brand in the UK was sold to Boots in 1988, it stayed in India with Glaxo until 1994, when it was acquired by Heinz.

Complan has about 8% market share in the Rs 6,000-7,000 crore market for malted food drink in the country. GSK’s Horlicks is the market leader in this segment.

Kraft Heinz India has annual sales of around Rs 1,800 crore and Complan accounted for about 40-45% of this in FY17.

Consumer acquisitions in India have more than doubled this year to $7.7 billion, up from $3.4 billion during the same period in 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The transaction coinciding with the GSK trade is also expected to see frenetic deal-making.

“Unlike GSK, which is a larger $4.5-billion play, suited for global players, this is smaller in size and hence the interest levels among local players is higher,” said an investment banking official aware of the discussions.

In the malt-based energy drink market, GlaxoSmith-Kline has a majority share through Horlicks, Boost and Maltova. Other contenders are Complan, Nestle’s Milo and Kraft-owned Cadbury’s Bournvita.

Consumer Healthcare has been a favoured theme for private equity funds such as Carlyle and Blackstone. Both have indicated interest in acquiring the spun-off units of global companies and have been aggressively competing for them.

Parag Milk Foods Ltd., one of the largest private dairy company in India, has collaborated with ColoPlus AB, a Swedish research organization to launch its first 100 percent natural immunity booster called GO Colo Power in India. This strategic collaboration enables Parag Milk Foods to strengthen its offerings in the health and nutrition segment, which further reiterates its leadership in the value added products category.

Made from the first milk of cows just after calving, Colo Power is enriched with immunoglobulins and probiotics and has the same goodness equivalent to that of a mother’s first milk. Go Colo Power, a product in powder form, which can be mixed into porridge, contains high colostrum values which helps fight diseases like AIDS, diarrhea, etc that reduce the body’s immuno-defensive powers. The use of colostrum helps to build long-term immunity and improves and strengthens the digestive system.

Highlighting the need for Colo Power, Conny Hagman, CEO, ColoPlus said, “Colostrum is rich in essential immunoglobulins and nutrients that helps in increasing the resistance to diseases. The health benefits of this milk is not just limited to the new borns but is beneficial for people of all age groups. Earlier you could only get Colostrum in a capsule or pure powder form, which could not be completely absorbed completely by the body; but now with Colo Power, one can get the same benefits of Colostrum in food form, as a porridge, and with our patented technology, it provides much higher absorption. Colo Power is also good in taste, easier to prepare and has a longer shelf life. Swedish Embassy was instrumental in linking us with a high quality and reputed partner like PMFL that aims to provide health benefits to the citizens of India, a key step towards improving public health.”

Elaborating on the association, Devendra Shah, Chairman, Parag Milk Foods said, “The launch Colo Power by Parag Milk Foods is the reflection of responsibility of giving back to the society. We are the first company to create a unique colostrum-based health food, which provides long-term immunity not just to ill people but also helps to build preventive immunity for one’s lifetime with its high immunoglobulin content. We have established an elaborate mechanism to collect colostrum milk from dairy farmers which not only provides an avenue to use the first milk which otherwise would have gone waste, but also provides them much higher returns. This high value colostrum is then converted into Go Colo Power by using the patented technology. It is scientifically proven that the colostrum present in Colo Power helps in increasing the immunity of patients suffering from Cancer, Diarrhea, apart from building one’s long-term immunity.”

Colo Power is available in 200 gms and is priced at Rs 750. The product will be available in e-commerce platforms and all metro cities.

Amtek group company Rollatainers has sold its stake in a company that holds the licence to run American quick-service restaurant chain Wendy’s outlets in India.

Rollatainers held half the stake in Sierra Nevada Restaurants, an equally owned joint venture with International Market Management (IMM), a London-based consumer brand headed by entrepreneur-restaurateur Jasper Reid. IMM bought the Indian partner’s stake in Sierra Nevada, becoming its sole owner.

Sanjay Chhabra, until recently a director at Sierra Nevada, confirmed the development. “The shareholding of Sierra Nevada is now entirely with IMM. Rollatainers got a fair value for the shareholding, and the JV is finding the right model in India,” he said, but declined to divulge the financial terms citing confidentiality conditions.

Reid said his company now owned 100% of the venture. “We can now grow,” he told ET.

The joint venture was formed in 2015, ahead of Wendy’s entry into India. The US chain that operates more than 6,600 restaurants globally had at the time announced plans to open close to 50 outlets in India by 2019, but has so far been unable to live up to the plans. It has just two stores as of now, having shut down three, and has rationalised prices from Rs 100 a burger to Rs 29 upwards and downsized store sizes.

A top executive directly aware of the developments said: “Tough market conditions including high taxation and steep rentals, and lack of necessary investments took a toll on the business.”

The Arvind Dham-controlled Amtek group has been swirling in financial crisis, as its debt-laden auto components business is saddled with heavy losses. Rollatainers’ core business is packaging.

“The Indian partners were not able to invest enough in the business, given their own financial crisis,” said another person. “The restaurants business requires heavy investments, swift innovation and ability to absorb costs specially if you’re in the QSR space, and playing the volumes game. That’s where Wendy’s lost to McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King — it could neither capitalise on the mass segment nor in the fine dining space.”

ET had reported early last year that Wendy’s was reconsidering its operating model in India and moving away from its existing franchise model with the Amtek group.

“Most global chains are India bound to be part of the burgeoning food service market. However, they are not playing an investment role and looking at royalties... The challenge is to find the right franchisee partner and there’s been a fair number of hits and misses,” said Rahul Singh, president of the National Restaurant Association of India.

The tiny but ultra-rich Gulf state of Qatar has agreed to buy one of New York’s most iconic buildings, the Plaza Hotel, for around $600 million, adding a development that was once owned by U.S. President Donald Trump to its luxury property portfolio.

Qatar’s state-owned Katara Holding is buying full ownership of the hotel, including a 75 percent stake from Indian business group Sahara India Pariwar, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters.

Qatar has been buying top hotels and luxury properties in the West over the past decade as part of a drive by its $300 billion-plus sovereign wealth fund to diversify the wealth it accumulates from gas and oil exports.

Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, already owns landmark hotels such as The Savoy and The Connaught in London.

Its wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has also invested in large Western companies such as carmaker Volkswagen and mining giant Glencore.

The pace of Qatar’s overseas investment had been expected to slow down amid a crisis in the Gulf after its neighbours – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain – imposed economic sanctions on Doha for allegedly supporting terrorism.

Qatar denies the allegations and says the economic boycott is an attempt to undermine its sovereignty.

Qatar has had to inject dozens of billions of dollars into its economy, but in recent months has said the impact of the boycott has been mitigated, allowing it to resume large-scale investments abroad, including buying a stake in Russian oil major Rosneft.

The Plaza Hotel deal is the largest investment in the Western property market by Qatar since the start of the blockade in June last year.

Trump bought the Plaza in 1988, but had to sell it to a group of investors including Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal more than two decades ago as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.

Prince Alwaleed had remained a minority shareholder in the hotel prior to the Qatari transaction. Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sahara has been trying to sell its stake for several years amid financial difficulties for its chairman, Subrata Roy.

The Plaza has hosted guests including the Beatles and Marlene Dietrich, who performed there. It was also the site of Trump’s marriage to Marla Maples in 1993.

The hotel has featured in movies including the 1959 American thriller by Alfred Hitchcock, “North by Northwest”; the 1991 drama “Scent of a Woman” starring Al Pacino, and the 1990 gangster drama “The King of New York” with Christopher Walken.

SoftBank and Alibaba-backed digital payments and e-commerce firm Paytm has bought NightStay Travels Pvt. Ltd, a Delhi company that operates a mobile-based marketplace for last-minute hotel bookings.

NightStay co-founder Nasr Khan confirmed the development. He didn’t give any details.

A Paytm spokesperson didn’t respond to email queries and text messages seeking comment till the time of publishing this article.

Earlier in the day, The Times of India reported, without mentioning the source of the information, that NightStay was acquired for around $20 million (around Rs 130 crore) in a cash-and-equity deal. The report also said that the entire team of NightStay will join Paytm.

NightStay was founded by Khan and Deepak Negi in March 2015. It procures unsold inventory from hotel owners at a discount and offers the rooms under three categories – boutique, business and luxury class. It does not offer concessions on the discounted price.

An IIM-Calcutta alumnus, Khan is the chief executive of the venture. He was earlier the vice president of the products vertical at Sanjeev Bhikchandani-led Info Edge (India) Ltd. Negi, an alumnus of the Symbiosis Center for Management Studies, is the chief operating officer of NightStay.

The NightStay app is available on both Android and iOS platforms. It operates across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Pune, Agra and Chandigarh.

Preethi Kitchen Appliances, the Rs 500 crore kitchen appliance maker has forayed into cook hobs amid strengthening its presence in the gas stove range with a series of new launches.

"Cook hobs are a western concept. But we have customised it to Indian way of cooking with greater efficiency," said S Subramanian, CEO of the company.

Preethi launched a new range of gas stoves and cook hobs in Kerala first targeting the Onam season.

He expects a good response in the state as the gas stoves and cook hobs market is worth over Rs 250 crore and is growing steadily by 10%. The total market for gas stoves in the country is about Rs 8000 crore.

For the new gas stoves Preethi has partenered with Sain Gobain Glass for proving durability of the glass on top of the stove. Preethi entered gas stove category three years ago and is looking to expand its range and position.

The company, Subramanian said, is already a leading player in mixer grinder with 20% market share nationally. `` Our share is higher in the southern markets with 47% in Tamil Nadu and 37% in Kerala.’’

Preethi is exporting products to the US, Asian and African countries and it currently constitutes around 8% of its revenue.

United Spirits Limited has acquired 26% stake in HipBar Private Limited, a payment technology start-up for Rs27 crore, underpinning its focus on e-commerce to drive sales.

HipBar allows consumers to select from a range of alcoholic beverages and make payment using the mobile wallet to have the product either delivered at their doorstep in places where it permitted or pick it up from a retail store. "This investment allows us to discover ideas that anticipate shifts in consumer behaviour and enables us to remain at the forefront of trends," said Anand Kripalu, Managing Director at Diageo India.

Founded in 2015, currently HipBar operates in Bengaluru and Chennai and will continue to run as an independent enterprise driven by its founding team, the company said.

With the physical retail space in India's liquor market shrinking, United Spirits, the country's largest alcoholic beverages maker, said last month, it is seeking to harness e-commerce to reach out to customers. HipBar works closely with the beverage alcohol industry and the government to custom build software and deploy technology projects in a compliant manner.

Coca-Cola is set to join global consumer food giants Nestle, Danone and Hindustan Unilever and others in the $4-billion-plus pursuit to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer nutrition business, people close to the development said.

This marks an entirely new foray for the Atlanta headquartered firm and could give it bandwidth to play in the pure health-nutrition space aimed primarily at children, these people added. Coke has mandated Citi to help them in the competitive bidding process expected to launch next week.

“The evaluation work had begun even though the sale process is yet to formally launch. It will be a large transaction, so work has already begun,” said an official involved, on condition of anonymity as the discussions are in private domain. “This also marks the company’s return to big bang M&A in a market like India.”

Coke acquired Parle’s stable of brands in the early 1990s including the popular Thums Up and gained access to its nationwide bottling and distribution infrastructure, thereby getting a strategic advantage over others. This was the first and only transaction by the company in the country.

With consumer beverage preferences changing swiftly in favour of low-sugar or functional options such as juice and juice drinks, flavoured water, dairy-based beverages and tea, the Atlanta-based company has been accelerating portfolio expansion beyond its core aerated brands.

Coke president T Krishnakumar had said that it would also launch nutrition products including electrolyte hydration drinks to be sold over-the-counter at pharmacies.

“So far we have been very active in the refreshment space; we now want to be a serious player in nutrition,” he had said in an interview. Coke said in its quarterly earnings for the January-March 2018 quarter that it has had three quarters of growth on the back of better distribution and portfolio expansion.

The maker of Thums Up, Minute Maid juice and Kinley water has been stepping up launches in the ‘healthier’ space including no-sugar variants of Coke, Sprite and Thums Up, Vio dairy drink, Zico coconut water, Aquarius fortified water, Fuze iced tea, glucose and fruit juice drink Aquarius Glucocharge and Minute Maid Vitingo for micronutrient deficiency and malnutrition, besides hyperlocal variants of juices and juice-based drinks.

“As a matter of policy we do not comment on any speculative news,” said a Coca-Cola spokesperson. “At this point there is nothing to report on the said matter. We will keep you informed of developments if any.”

Both Coca-Cola and rival PepsiCo, which sell a combined $100 billion a year in drinks and snacks, have tried to reduce reliance on soda and other aerated drinks by acquiring new products, particularly in faster growing drinks categories such as water or tea.

In recent years Coca-Cola globally bought or invested in millennial friendly brands such as Honest Tea, an organic tea brand, Suja Life, a cold pressed juice maker, and AdeS, a soyabased beverage brand.

However, another top official said buying Horlicks wouldn’t be the ideal fit for a company which is looking to rapidly reduce sugar across its portfolio.a

GSK Consumer’s Horlicks and Boost brands have strong positioning in Indian market and command approximately 70% of overall value market share in Indian Malted Food Drinks (MFD) market.

These products had a combined revenue of £550 million in 2017, with India contributing most of it. However, in March the company decided to review and potentially sell the nutrition products business to fund the $13-billion buyout of Novartis’ stake in a consumer healthcare JV.

The review will also include an assessment of the parent’s 72.5% stake in GSK Consumer in India. The current market cap of the company is Rs 25,544.95 crore.

The outcome of this review is likely by end-2018 which may or may not result in any transaction, eventually, as per the company. Morgan Stanley and Greenhill are advising GSK in the sale.

In order to finalise a buyer for the edible oils company, the lenders of Ruchi Soya are resorting to the Swiss challenge method. This is the first time that banks are using this method to find a resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). There are just two players left in the fray. Edible oils player Adani Wilmar is pitted against Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali in a contest which may see Godrej Agrovet joining forces with the latter.

Swiss challenge, a method that has been used in India by various states to award roads and housing projects, could become the final round to decide the winning bidder for Ruchi Soya.

Under the auction process, both candidates will submit their detailed resolution plan. As per the process finalised, Adani Wilmar will be given the first opportunity to raise its bid which will be followed by an option to Patanjali to revise its offer. Adani Wilmar will then be given the second opportunity to up its bid following which Patanjali will get the final chance to beat Adani Wilmar’s bid, sources said.

Banks last year dragged Ruchi Soya to the bankruptcy court to recover dues of around Rs. 12,000 crore.

Adani Wilmar and Patanjali have submitted their bids to the committee of creditors (CoC) in a meeting held on May 30 with Patanjali holding an edge with its bid of Rs. 4,150 crore plus a commitment to infuse about Rs. 1,800 crore of capital. Adani Wilmar has offered Rs. 3,250 crore.

The CoC in consultation with independent evaluator BDO, then decided to adopt the Swiss challenge to maximise the value for the asset, the sources said.

“Patanjali is expected to maintain its aggressive approach in the challenge and will have the advantage of having the last go. It’s evident from the fact that Baba Ramdev himself made the final presentation before the insolvency professionals,” said one of the sources.

An executive committee comprising representatives from IDBI Bank, State Bank of India, Standard Chartered and Corporation Bank are expected to conduct the Swiss challenge and conclude the process by mid-June, sources said. They expect the final bid to be around Rs. 5,200-5,300 crore.

While Patanjali’s appetite for growth and desire to be a market leader in edible oils have led it to bid for the company, Adani Wilmar’s position is significantly different. Adani Wilmar already has a sizeable market share in India and the addition of Ruchi Soya’s market share will put it in a position of holding 65% of the market that may raise a red flag for the Competition Commission, whose approval is mandatory for the acquisition to be completed.

Ruchi Soya is the largest edible oil seed extraction and refining company in India, with 3.72 million tonnes of oilseed extraction capacity across 10 locations and 3.30 MT refining capacity in 13 locations. It also has a 3.05 MT soya meal extraction capacity. The company is the largest player in the cooking oil and soya foods category in the country with iconic brands like Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Star and Ruchi Gold.

The country's largest consumer goods firm, Hindustan Unilever has decided to combine its foods and refreshments business into one division effective July, in line with the global category structure of parent Unilever.

Geetu Verma, existing executive director for foods will move to Rotterdam as global vice-president of nutrition and naturals platform in Unilever as a part of strategy. Sudhir Sitapati, currently the executive director, refreshments will head the combined segment, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

"This integration will help HUL increase organisational agility and better serve local consumers while harnessing the advantage of global scale," HUL statement said. The combined business accounts for nearly a fifth or Rs 6328 crore to HUL's overall sales.

HUL had split these divisions to have sharper focus in these high growing segments, nearly two years ago. In April last year, the Anglo-Dutch consumer giant announced restructuring its firm including buying back shares, combining its foods and refreshments businesses, reviewing the dual structure and disposing of its underperforming spreads business in the wake of a failed takeover approach for the multinational from Kraft Heinz.

HUL’s food business includes Knorr soup and Kissan Jam and its refreshment brands include Bru coffee, Lipton tea and Magnum ice-cream.

Geetu Verma, 50, joined HUL in 2011 after stints in other top FMCG firms such as P&G, Seagram, and PepsiCo in India and Europe. For Unilever, foods and refreshments have a 43% share in total sales and is headed by Nitin Paranjpe, who was the CEO at HUL five years ago.

PepsiCo has announced its entry into a definitive agreement to acquire Bare Foods Co. (doing business as Bare Snacks), a U.S. based maker of baked fruit and vegetable snacks.

The deal will add to the company’s snacking portfolio and further deliver on its ‘Performance with Purpose’ vision to offer consumers more positive nutrition options.

“For nearly a dozen years, PepsiCo has been committed to ‘Performance with Purpose’, our vision of making more nutritious products, while also reducing added sugars, salt, and saturated fat. Bare Snacks fits perfectly within that vision,” said Indra Nooyi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo.

“The Bare Snacks leadership team has done an outstanding job building a top-tier organization and a strong brand with authentic roots, and I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Bare Snacks to the PepsiCo family.”

Bare Snacks was founded in 2001 by a family-owned organic apple farm in Washington, that began selling packaged baked apple chips in local farmers’ markets. Under its current leadership team, it has expanded steadily to become the leader in apple, banana and coconut snacks. It has recently expanded into vegetable chips and offers the industry’s broadest assortment of baked crunchy fruit and vegetable chips. Bare products are made from simple ingredients that are baked, not fried. They are Non-GMO Project verified, feature clean labels and are sold online and in natural and conventional retail channels across the United States.

“We are thrilled to work with the PepsiCo team to further our mission of bringing simplicity to snacking,” said Santosh Padki, CEO of Bare Foods.

“With a shared passion for crunchy, better-for-you snacks, PepsiCo is the right partner to help bring our simply baked fruit and vegetable snacks to even more consumers across the world and continue to grow our brand.”

Upon closing, Bare Snacks will continue to operate independently from its headquarters in San Francisco with its leadership reporting into Frito-Lay North America, a division of PepsiCo.

“Bare premium baked fruit and vegetable chips are an exciting expansion of Frito-Lay’s better-for-you snack offerings,” said Vivek Sankaran, President and Chief Operating Officer for Frito-Lay North America.

“While we will continue to offer the current Bare Snacks product line, we look forward to working with the Bare Snacks team to deliver new, innovative options, and ultimately expanded distribution, to meet the ever-growing consumer demands for authentic and nutritious snacks.”

Kroger, has planned to buy Chicago-based meal-kit seller Home Chef for $200 million in order to grab a larger chunk of the online grocery market.

Like other meal-kit firms, Home Chef offers doorstep delivery of recipes to its subscribers. Kroger will pay $200 million for Chicago-based Home Chef, and may pay an additional $500 million over five years provided the sales reach desired milestones. Kroger plans to bring Home Chef kits in its supermarkets.

Competition among meal-kit companies is fierce. Albertsons bought Plated last year, Walmart is expanding its easy-to-make dinners, and meal-kit company Blue Apron started selling some of its kits in Costco stores. Amazon, which bought Whole Foods last year, also sells its own meal kits.

Kroger Co. the 2,800 store brand may close the deal in the second quarter.

Parent of D-mart, Avenue Supermarts plunged over 5 per cent on Friday afternoon after a financial daily confirmed Radhakishan Damani, the founder’s plan to sell the stake in the company.

Damani will offload 62.40 lakh shares, or 1 per cent equity, between May 21 and June 14, according to the report. He will sell shares to achieve the minimum public shareholding requirement.

The scrip was trading 5.23 per cent down at Rs 1,417 at around 1.18 pm whereas benchmark BSE Sensex dropped 217 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 34,931.

At current price of Rs 1,400 per share, the value of 1 percent equity of Avenue Supermarts stands at over Rs 850 crore.

The promoter and promoter group held 82.20 per cent stake in the company as of March 31, 2018.

Avenue Supermarts (D-Mart) on Saturday reported 72.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs 167 crore for the March quarter.

The food & grocery retailer reported Rs 97 crore profit in the year-ago quarter.

Total revenue for the quarter came in at Rs 3,810 crore, up 22.5 per cent YoY. The company had clocked Rs 3,111 crore sales in the same period last year.

For the quarter rose to Rs 294 crore in March quarter from Rs 208 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Ebitda margin improved to 7.7 per cent from 6.7 per cent in the year-ago quarter.

Manpasand Beverages and Parle Products have planned a joint distribution of their respective brands in western markets, starting with Gujarat. As a part of this strategic tie-up, the Beverage major has introduced a new brand for Mango Sip, “Mango Sip Gold,” which will be available along with “Parle G”.

“Our core strength has been our strong distribution networks in the rural and semi-urban markets of India. To deepen this, we formed an alliance with Parle Products as they have a strong distribution network across the country and also have a diversified product portfolio that caters to all types of consumers. Through this partnership, Manpasand Beverage will have access to 45 lakh outlets pan-India for our flagship brand “Mango Sip,” Dhirendra Singh, CMD, Manpasand Beverages said.

The first phase of the partnership was completed in the eastern region of India where up to 1 lakh outlets of Parle Products have been roped in by Manpasand Beverages.

Singh said, “As both the companies are known for their dominance in small and value packs, this tie-up will create a formidable synergy in the food and beverages segment of India. It will also help us in achieving our goal of providing quality and nutritional products to the masses.”

Last year, Manpasand Beverages tied-up with Parle products to jointly distribute their brands. Through this partnership the Company targets to expand distribution by two-folds by next fiscal year.

 “Parle is synonymous with the quintessential snack that every Indian has grown up with. This is a significant venture for us as we look for further growth in the Indian FMCG market with our Snacking range,” Krishna Rao, category head, Parle Products said.

Manpasand Beverages has invested a sum of Rs 600 crore to set up four new plants in Vadodara, Varanasi, Sri City, and eastern region of India.

Swiss-based food giant Nestle will pay Starbucks $7.15 billion as part of a global coffee alliance allowing the Swiss brand to market U.S. coffee company's products around the world outside Starbucks' coffee shops.

Starbucks said it will use proceeds to speed-up share buybacks and the deal would add to earnings per share (EPS) by 2021 at the latest. Nestle saw the deal adding to earnings by 2019.

Nestle and Starbucks are joining forces in a highly fragmented consumer drinks category that has seen a string of deals lately.

JAB Holdings, the private investment firm of Europe's billionaire Reimann family, has fueled the consolidation wave with a series of deals including Douwe Egberts, Peet's Coffee & Tea and Keurig Green Mountain, narrowing the gap with Nestle.

"This global coffee alliance will bring the Starbucks experience to the homes of millions more around the world through the reach and reputation of Nestle," said Starbucks Chief Executive Kevin Johnson.

Starbucks plans to use the proceeds to accelerate share buybacks and now expects to return approximately $20 billion in cash to shareholders in the form of share buybacks and dividends through the fiscal year 2020, it said.

It said the transaction was expected to add to earnings per share by the end of the fiscal year 2021 or sooner, with no change to the company's currently stated long-term financial targets.

In a separate statement, Nestle said it expected the business to contribute positively to its earnings per share and organic growth targets from 2019.

As part of the deal, Nestle, which will take on about 500 Starbucks employees without altering its buyback program.

An entity owned by one of the promoters of Barbeque Nation is in advanced talks to acquire Bengaluru-born Italian casual dining restaurant and wine bar Toscano in a rare M&A deal on the gastronomy street, people directly aware of the matter said.

Samar Retail, part of Sara Futura Group, controlled by Barbeque Nation managing director Kayum Dhanani, wants to build a national network for Toscano, founded by two chefs Jean Michel Jasserand and Goutham Balasubramanian more than a decade ago.

The deal-making is independent of Barbeque Nation, the country’s largest grilled buffet restaurant chain. Sara Futura of Dhanani operates several other businesses including footwear brand Ruosh and an exporter for brands such as Clark’s, Bugatti and Kenneth Cole.

The two Toscano founders would stay on to build a chain of 30-40 stores in the next three years. Toscano operates five-six restaurants and wine bars in the country’s technology capital. When contacted, Samar Retail and Jean Michel of Toscano declined to comment.

The financial details of the impending transaction could not be ascertained. Toscano, owned by Red Apple Kitchen Consultancy, reported nearly Rs 33-crore revenue in FY17.

The country’s $50-billion eating out market is poised for faster growth, riding on the rising spends of the country’s young population and changing lifestyles. Italian cuisine had a 4.5% share, while pizza on its own had 6% share of this market, according to India Food Services Report 2016, jointly published by the National Restaurant Association of India and consulting firm Technopak.

Samar Retail already operates a pizzeria and cheese business under Onesta brand. Toscano will be run as a standalone company after the deal and is unlikely to compete with Onesta, which is a value food chain catering to different customers, sources said.

The domestic food services industry has not been a happy deal-making space despite its huge macro potential. Several global investors have burnt money in the sector, while consolidation deals have often tripped on details. Private equity investor L Catteron’s investment into Riyaz Amlani-led Impressario Entertainment & Hospitality, owners of Smoke House Deli and Social, was one of the notable deals recently.

Food and beverage franchise management firm, Yellow Tie Hospitality Management LLP has acquired a controlling stake in three quick-service restaurant brands Umraan, Wok This Way and Health Juice Centre, the company statement said.

The acquisitions by the company are in line with its restaurant incubator programme.

“We have a capex of Rs 25 crore for a scalable restaurant incubator, under which we will be acquiring brands. We are looking for brands from smaller cities like Siliguri or Vijayawada, which have distinct brand indicators but can be scaled up,” said Karan Tanna, the founder and chief executive officer of Yellow Tie Hospitality.

For the acquisition of above the three QSR brands, the company has kept Rs 15-17 crore, he added.

Tanna said Umraan and Wok This Way has two outlets each and Health Juice Centre has six outlets.

Yellow Tie Hospitality plans to open 55 outlets 25 for Health Juice and 15 each for Umraan and Wok This Way – across the three brands by the end of 2018.

The promoters still own a minority stake in these QSR brands and continue to run them.

“I am extremely happy to collaborate with Yellow Tie Hospitality as they understand the vision that I have for Umraan which is to take Indian regional food across the world.we are the first movers in Indian regional Food QSR and with this association we can penetrate market faster,” says Umraan Owner, Rahul Malik.

The company is also planning to take Umraan to the Middle East and Wok This Way to Southeast Asian markets by next year.

“Partnering with Yellow Tie Hospitality has been the perfect step to tap the ever-growing healthy food consumers. Health Juice Centre has become an iconic juice brand over the last 2 decades. With the support of Yellow Tie and our quality product we want to expand the brand across the map of India and foster a market for healthy drinks,” says Health Juice Centre owner Vilas Dongre.

Founded in 2015, Yellow Tie Hospitality has three in-house restaurant brands – Dhadoom, Twist of Tadka and BB Jaan.

“Wok This Way is India’s first healthy only vegetarian wok concept and we have received tremendous response in our first 2 stores. With Yellow Tie we are confident of putting Franchise systems in place and grow nationally and look at International markets by 2019,” says Anand Bhatia owner Wok This Way.

The firm also has exclusive licensing agreements for international brands such as Genuine Broaster Chicken from the US, Just Falafel from Dubai and Wrapchic from England.The company provides support to franchisee partners in the form of setting up shop, sourcing kitchen equipment and initial hand-holding.

With Inputs From: Shah Mohsin

Patanjali Ayurveda which claimed to be reluctant in Ruchi Soya Industries has surprisingly submitted a bid for the commodities player, the last day given by the resolution professional to submit bids for the bankrupt company.

Patanjali Ayurveda’s entry in the auction process of Ruchi Soya complicates matters for other companies Godrej Agrovet, Adani Wilmar and Emami which, too, submitted bids on Wednesday as the Baba Ramdev-led firm is a known disrupter in the FMCG segment.

If successful, Patanjali gets a firm foothold in the cooking oils business where Adani, through its partnership with Wilmar, Emami and Godrej are established players. Patanjali Ayurveda already has a tie-up with Ruchi Soya for edible oil refining and packaging.

With around 24 plants of crushing, milling, refining, and packaging edible oils, an acquisition of Ruchi Soya will be useful to Adani Wilmar and Godrej Agrovet, helping them consolidate their positions in the market.

Initially, 20-odd companies were said to be in the race to acquire Ruchi Soya, which has a product portfolio that includes well-known brands like Nutrela, Ruchi Gold, and Ruchi Star. However, on Wednesday, only four players submitted their bids, multiple sources told TOI. Ruchi Soya, promoted by Dinesh Shahra, owes more than Rs 10,000 crore to creditors. After the company failed to repay the dues, the creditors decided to auction the firm and they appointed Shailendra Ajmera of EY to oversee the bidding process.

Ruchi Soya Industries closed 16% down at Rs 13 on the BSE on Wednesday.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved has denied the Rs 9,000 crore acquisition offer for debt-ridden edible oils maker Ruchi Soya Industries.

Patanjali spokesperson SK Tijarawala said, “Yes, Patanjali is interested in acquiring Ruchi Soya since we want to make use of their idle installed capacity but we have definitely not placed a bid for Rs 9,000 crore. After examining the company’s vitals and balance sheet, the value of the deal should be at most between Rs 1,800-2,000 crore.”

Patanjali, along with about 20 companies including Emami, Godrej Agrovet, ITC, Aion Capital Partners and global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is learnt to have bid to acquire Ruchi Soya Industries through the ongoing insolvency process under the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Ruchi Soya’s brand portfolio includes Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Gold and Ruchi Star. Patanjali Ayurved’s spokesperson said the acquisition was synergistic with the company since it is “swadeshi. Vital resources should be fully utilised and channelised for the benefit of consumers and farmers.”

Ruchi Soya’s debt stood at about Rs 12,000 crore as of December 31, 2017, and lenders dragged the company to the NCLT last year. The company has over Rs 4,000 crore of bad debts written off and a net worth deficit of Rs 498 crore.

Last year, the company had announced 51% stake sale to private equity firm Devonshire Capital for Rs 4,000 crore, but the deal fell through after NCLT admitted the bankruptcy case. The shortlisting of bids is expected next fortnight. Apart from being the country’s biggest edible oilseed extraction and refining company, Ruchi Soya is also the largest player in the cooking oil and soya foods category. It has 24 plants for crushing, milling, refining, and packaging.

Online marketplace for food delivery Foodpanda has announced its partnership with digital payments platform PhonePe to enable seamless digital payments for all its users.

The partnership allows consumers to choose from several payment options such as PhonePe Wallet, UPI (Unified Payment Interface), Credit and Debit cards to pay for their food orders on Foodpanda.

"The partnership with PhonePe is in sync with the country's swift movement towards digital payments considering they are less time consuming, secured and reliable. Like this, we intend to enter several other partnerships in the future to create a robust food tech ecosystem for all our stakeholders," said Head of Partnerships and New Initiatives, Foodpanda, Anuj Sahai.

"At PhonePe, we are working to create a smooth and secure payment ecosystem that is conducive to all types of digital transactions be it using wallets, UPI or debit, and credit cards. Online food ordering is a fast-growing use case that has gained significant popularity among consumers. With this partnership with Foodpanda, PhonePe customers would be able to pay for their food orders faster," said Head- Business Development, PhonePe, Pradeep Dodle.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev run fast-moving consumer goods firm Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, has made a Rs 9,000 crore ($1.38 billion) bid to acquire bankrupt edible oils manufacturer Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd, reported a financial daily.

According to the report, Ruchi Soya has so far received bids from more than 26 suitors including ITC, Phoenix ARC, Emami Group, AION Capital Partners and private equity giant KKR.

Ruchi Soya is in the midst of insolvency resolution proceedings initiated by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) following petitions from creditors Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank.

The company’s debt stood at around Rs 12,000 crore at the end of last year.

While all the bids are yet to be officially opened, the report quoted persons familiar with the matter as saying that Patanjali’s bid could be one of the highest.

Ruchi Soya, which sells food products and edible oils under the brands Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Gold and Ruchi Star, expects the process to be completed by June 13.

A 51% stake sale to private equity major Devonshire Capital was deemed null and void after the NCLT admitted the insolvency case against Ruchi Soya late last year.

West Bengal Livestock Development Corporation (WBLDC) owned Haringhata Meat has tied up with an online grocery store, Delybazar, for sale of exotic meat. This is the first state government-owned company online tie-up.

The latest move of Haringhata will offer a wide variety of exotic tropical meat like lean pork, fresh pork, dressed Pekin duck, dressed turkey meat, dressed quail, lamb meat etc. available on the official website of the online shopping portal of Delybazar.

The tie-up has been entered into ahead of the Bengali new year or Poila Baisakh.

Gouri Shankar Koner, MD, Haringhata Meat, stated, “So far WBLDC’s sales were offline through Haringhata outlets spread across the state. We tied-up with Delybazar to venture into online sales. Delybazar’s initiative of selling fresh fish and other edibles is well appreciated.”

Exotic meat consumption is on a high and has become one of the growing markets in India. The demand for fresh meat and the lack of quality options in the traditional offline market have driven online meat selling amongst the target customer base. The consumption of exotic meat has broken through the glass ceiling of religious firewalls and personal squeamishness in an age when 20 million Indians are travelling overseas and are spending heavily on food.

Incidentally, Delybazar has been making it big in the market of online supply of fresh fish, meat and varied items of daily needs. Prior to the tie-up, WBLDC only used to control their business through physical marketing.

Apax Partners has involved an affiliate into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Healthium MedTech Pvt. Ltd.

The buyout firm has taken the controlling stake from existing shareholders including TPG Growth, CX Partners, and founding shareholders. The transaction is subject to customary approvals, it said in a statement.

Backed by Apax Funds, Healthium plans to deepen its presence in the Indian market and broaden its portfolio of specialty Medtech products.

As per the reports, Apax was buying Healthuim, previously known as Sutures India, in a deal pegged at a little less than Rs 2,000 crore.

Shashank Singh, partner at Apax, said in the statement that healthcare is a key focus area for the PE firm in India given the secular tailwinds around healthcare spending and government initiatives focussed on affordable and universal healthcare.

“Healthium, with its strong IP (intellectual property) and domestic manufacturing base, is well positioned to improve healthcare access and drive excellence in local manufacturing under the Make in India programme,” he said.

The acquisition was made via Quinag Acquisition (FDI) Ltd, a company backed by funds advised by Apax Partners or colloquially known as the Apax Funds.

Healthium will be the eighth investment in India for the Apax Funds over the past 11 years. Including this transaction, the Apax Funds have invested just under $2 billion of equity in the country, the statement said.

The investment in Healthium marks the second investment in the healthcare space for the Apax Funds in India, after the investment in Apollo Hospitals a decade ago.

Matt Hobart, partner at TPG Growth and global leader of the fund’s healthcare practice said, “From the time we invested five years ago, Healthium has always delivered extremely well on that quality-cost equation.”

Founded in 1992, Healthium makes and sells a broad range of medical devices and consumable products across hospitals, nursing homes, and government hospitals and institutions, and services over 10,000 hospitals across the country including wound closure products, minimally invasive products, arthroscopy consumables and urology products. The company’s key brands include Trusynth, Truglyde, Trubond, and Sironix, the statement said.

Varun Beverages is confirmed to have acquired PepsiCo India's previously franchised sub-territory in Jharkhand along with a manufacturing facility.

In a BSE filing, it said, "The company has concluded the acquisition of PepsiCo India's previously franchised sub-territory in Jharkhand along with one manufacturing unit at Jamshedpur.”

PepsiCo India's bottling partner Varun Beverages is now a franchisee for PepsiCo products across 21 states and 2 Union Territories.

Shares of Varun Beverages were trading 0.68 per cent lower at Rs 605 a piece on BSE.

Food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy has partnered with Flipkart's payment arm PhonePe to enable a new payment option for customers.

Consumers can choose from various payment options such as PhonePe wallet, unified payment interface (UPI) and pay for their food orders seamlessly within the Swiggy app, the companies said in a joint statement.

PhonePe is currently being accepted by more than 60,000 online and offline merchants including MakeMyTrip, PVR, McDonald's, ClearTrip, Myntra, KFC, CCD, Apollo Pharmacy and Barista.

"An increasing number of consumers are relying on online food ordering platforms like Swiggy for their food and beverage (F&B) needs," PhonePe Head of Business Development Pradeep Dodle said.

As an introductory offer, users paying through PhonePe on the Swiggy app can avail 25 per cent cashback up to Rs 100 on their first order, and up to Rs 50 on their subsequent order during the offer period.

“The partnership with PhonePe gives our users many simplified payment options like UPI and PhonePe wallet that are fast, safe and cashless,” Swiggy's Vice President-Product, Anuj Rathi, said.

Recently, Swiggy partnered with ICICI Bank to introduce UPI-based payment facility for its delivery fleet.

Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, one of India’s largest food service company, today announced its joint venture with Golden Harvest QSR Limited to launch Domino’s Pizza in Bangladesh. Post investment in JV, Jubilant FoodWorks will be the major shareholder in the joint venture entity ‘Jubilant Golden Harvest Limited’ with 51% of the total shareholding, while Golden Harvest QSR Limited, a part of the Golden Harvest Group, will own 49% in the JV.

Speaking on the announcement Mr. Shyam S. Bhartia, Chairman and Mr. Hari S. Bhartia, Co-Chairman, Jubilant FoodWorks Limited said, “Today’s announcement marks a significant step in our journey of international expansion. As one of the fastest growing economies, we believe that Bangladesh offers huge potential for Domino’s. We are delighted to partner with the Golden Harvest group to introduce Domino’s pizza in Bangladesh. In Golden Harvest, we have found a trusted and capable partner with a diversified set of businesses across Food, Dairy, Logistics, Commodities and other areas, and we look forward to building our business in partnership with them.”

Commenting on the development Mr. Pratik Pota, CEO & Whole time Director, Jubilant FoodWorks Limited said, “We are excited to be entering the Bangladesh market. As the eight most populous country in the world with the highest population density and a young demographic, the Bangladesh market presents a great growth opportunity for Domino’s. We are confident that with Jubilant’s strong operational expertise and Golden Harvest’s deep understanding of the Bangladesh market, we will be able to carve a strong position in the food services market in the country.”

According to Mr. Rajeeb Samdani, Managing Director of Golden Harvest Group, “We are excited to collaborate with Jubilant FoodWorks to bring the world renowned and iconic Domino’s Pizza brand to Bangladesh. Pizza is a growing food segment in the country as the consumers are opening up to more experimentation in food especially global cuisines. This partnership has a huge potential and with Jubilant FoodWorks’ support we are confident that we would be able to deliver a great pizza experience to our customers in Bangladesh.”

Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, which is a master franchise holder of Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts brands in India, has exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza brand in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal as well.

Golden Harvest QSR Limited is a part of Golden Harvest Group of Bangladesh which is a diversified conglomerate and has interests in various sectors such as food, commodities, IT, logistics, real estate, dairy and insurance.

Gulabs, the makers of hand-made Indian snacks has tied up with Godrej Nature’s Basket, India’s pioneering and premium food destination present its products in retail stores of Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru.

As per the tie-up plan, Gulabs which has become famous for its Tiny Khakhras will be selling these snakes at more than 25 Godrej Nature’s Basket retail stores.

Under this tie-up, one of the most sought after snack items from Gulabs – the Tiny Khakhras will be available in more than 25 Godrej Nature’s Basket retail stores.

Launched last year, Tiny Khakhras are of just 2.5 inches diameter and available in three flavours – Plain, Ajwain and Methi. Unlike the regular-sized khakhras, these tiny khakhras are easy to store and carry without worrying about getting crumbled. They can prove conveniently portable and perfectlg healthy snack companion during travel without overburdening and taking other space.

Ruchika Gupta, VP – Sales and Marketing of Gulabs while commenting on the partnership with Godrej Nature’s Basket said, “We are delighted on partnering with Godrej Nature’s Basket and in turn reaching out to Mumbaiites, Punekars and Bangaloreans who can now lay their hands upon our tiny khakhras in a jiffy.”

Each box packed with 10 pieces of Tiny Khakhras is priced at Rs 35.