Friesland to buy stake in Parag Milk

In order to beef up its market presence, EasyMeat, a Pune-based meat delivery startup, is on the move to acquire Nonveggies. Though both the companies have not elaborated much on the pact, but it is estimated that it is going to be an all cash deal.

Commenting on the move, Shiv Sharan, Co-Founder, EasyMeat.in said that the Nonveggies team is located in the western part of Pune which is not close to EasyMeat’s warehouse that is located in central Pune, through this acquisition; company will be better able to cover the entire city and get access to their customer base.

Nonveggies claims to have a unique customer base of over 1,500 users, out of which 68 per cent are repeat customers. Launched in December 2014, Nonveggies claims to have built a strong customer base in western Pune that Easymeat in will now have access to.

Elaborating further, Gaurav Saxena, Co-Founder, Nonveggies stated that company gets around 1,000 orders a month in western Pune, it also has an additional 300-400 unregistered users and have tied up with 12 to 15 vendors for the three meat categories that brand offers.

EasyMeat.in claims to have a monthly growth of 30 per cent and in July received 45 orders on a daily basis. Through the acquisition, the startup aims to reach 100 orders a day by September.

Atulya Mittal, the Ispat scion who earlier announced to buy stake in Pizza Corner has acquired the first Pizza brand which entered India, according to a report published by ET.

The Bangkok-based billionaire Fred Mouawad has joined hand with Papa John's owners to create India's third largest pizza chain after Domino's and Pizza Hut under the brand Papa John's.

After the partnership, Pizza Corner will merge with Papa John's and will be named Papa John's Pizza across the country.

Pizza Corner, India's first pizza brand which operates close to 70 outlets will cease to exist post the merger. The combined entity will have over 90 outlets mostly in western and southern India.

After the deal, Mouawad will become the second largest shareholder in Om Pizza & Eats after the Mittal family. TVS Capital and the Jawad group of Bahrain will continue to hold a minority stake in merged entity.

At the same time, Joseph Cherian, CEO, GFA Global will now head the merged entity and drive the growth of Papa John's in India.

"While we are focused on making the Om Pizza investment a lucrative one, we will continue to scout for more opportunities in the consumption space in India," Atulya Mittal, son of Vinod Mittal of erstwhile Ispat Industries told ET.

Post merger, Papa John's will immediately get some scale in Chennai and Bangalore. All Pizza Corner stores will be re-branded by June next year.

Everstone Capital has acquired Domino's Pizza's Indonesia franchise by picking up 51 percent stake for USD 20 million, stated a media report.

F&B Asia Ventures, a part of Everstone which specialises in creating a portfolio of food and beverage brands across South Asia and India will look after this new investment. The company plans to expand its operations of 60 branded pizza outlets in six Indonesian cities, including Jakarta and Bali.

Speciality Group of Restaurants which runs chains such as Mainland China, Sigree and Oh Calcutta is planning to buy stake in celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor's SK Restaurants Pvt Ltd, stated a media report.

SK Restaurants, previously known as Indian Cookery has an enterprise value between Rs 300 crore to Rs 350 crore stated an investment banker.

Kapoor launched Indian Cookery four years ago by pooling in money from 25-30 investors. Promoters of health-club operator Talwalkars and local private-equity fund TVS Capital hold significant minority stakes in the unlisted company.

"Negotiations are on with all the investors. Since there are more number of people to deal with the transaction is taking time”, tells another banker.

Anant Gawande, who is part of the Talwalkars, denied any talks over selling shares in the company. For Speciality, expanding into newer categories and markets across India is the strategy going forward another person with knowledge of the development said.

Vallabhdas Kanji (VKL), a major food ingredients and flavouring solutions maker, has bought the Keya brand of herbs, seasonings and spices from Kochi based Amalgam Group.

About a year ago, India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA) had taken a majority stake in VKL with a commitment to invest up to $40 million to fund the company’s next phase of growth. VKL has taken over the non-frozen food segment under the Keya brand.

According to sources, the takeover by VKL happened when the largest spice oleoresin manufacturing and exporting company Synthite Industries was close to clinching the deal after conducting due diligence, but VKL bagged the deal with a better offer.

Keya brand of spices, herbs and seasoning has been catering to the premium segment in metros and big cities mostly. It has not been reportedly performing as well as company's other divisions. Commenting on the same, SP Kamath, VP, Legal Affairs and Company Secretary, Amalgam Group, said, "It was breaking even. We sold when we got a good valuation. The IVFA has partnered with VKL which has operations in Kochi and Mumbai, with the idea of making it the largest food ingredients company in the country.”

VKL supplies seasonings and herbs to a string of snack food companies and restaurant chains including ITC, Parle, Nestle, Brittania, KFC and Dominos amongst other.

Emperador Inc, a part of Alliance Global Group Inc, one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines with interests in food and beverages, quick service restaurants, real estate and gaming has planned to buy Whyte & Mackay spirits business of Diageo-controlled United Spirits Ltd (USL).

The company which is the maker of brandy will gain a global portfolio of scotch whiskey, malt and grain distilleries and brands planning to take the company beyond its home market.

According to the sources, United Spirits' top management is expected to meet in London on Friday to finalise the terms. The transaction is likely to value the Scottish distiller at close to $700 million, or approximately 400 million. However, it is still not clear if Whyte & Mackay will be sold in its entirety or whether two out of its four malt distilleries will be retained.

Cadbury India will soon be renamed as Mondelez India after its parent company Mondelez International which had acquired Cadbury Plc globally in 2010 stated a media report.

The move is expected to coincide with the company moving out of its iconic headquarters 'Cadbury House' at Peddar Road in Mumbai in June this year.

Cadbury House and the accompanying Bournville Apartments where the company's top officials reside were sold to diamond merchant Dilip Lakhi for under Rs 400 crore late last year.

Commenting on the same, Manu Anand, Managing Director, Cadbury, India, said, “It wouldn't clash with the popularity of its household brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, 5-Star, Gems and now Tang and Oreo. Mondelez is the new corporate identity for the erstwhile Kraft Foods after a restructuring two years back. The Indian arm is now following suit.”

Ravi Jaipuria, the Founder Chairman of Devyani International which holds three Yum! Brands franchise in north and east India may consider bidding for the food retailing business of the Dubai-based Dodsal Group in west and south.

Dodsal which has the franchise for Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell stores in west and south India has appointed investment bankers to look for potential buyers for the business.

Talking to media, Jaipuria, said, "It would make sense for us to consider the business since we have the rights in the north and the east. But we need clarity from the parent (Yum! Brands) on whether franchises are available in the first place in the two regions. Yum! Brands has been setting up stores on their own. We will certainly want to know whether they wish to appoint franchisees for the two regions or set up company-owned outlets”.

Pride Hotels took over the management of the Sun Village Resort recently. Arun Nayar, Executive Director, Pride Hotels and Ralph Desouza, Managing Director, The Sun Village Resort Pvt. Ltd. signed the agreement to acquire the 136 room property.

Mr. Satyen Jain, CEO, Pride Hotels said, “We are proud to have been appointed to manage and operate, the Sun Village Resort. This modern and uniquely designed hotel will provide deluxe amenities and genuine local hospitality to ensure guests have a truly remarkable experience.” 

The hotel includes multi-cuisine restaurants Sunflower, Hibiscus, Tomatium offering a choice of buffet and A la carte menu. The hotel also features conference rooms, half acre village lawns as banquets, spa facilities, gym, beauty parlour, shopping arcade and entertainment options.