AgenciesThe three major shareholders of Capital Foods, which makes food products under the Ching's Secret and Smith & Jones brands, have decided to put the company up for sale in what could be one of the largest acquisitions of a homegrown consumer company, said people aware of the matter.
The company's owners are US PE group General Atlantic (35%), European family office and investment arm Invus Group (40%) and former ad executive turned food entrepreneur and founder chairman Ajay Gupta (25%).
They have mandated Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for the entire company at a $1.5-2 billion valuation or a significant minority stake and then take the company public. A formal auction process is due to begin in the coming weeks.
At multiple points, global food and beverage giants Nestle, Kraft Heinz, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Orkla, Nissin Foods and McCormick as well as domestic ones such as ITC and Tata Consumer Products have approached the shareholders for a possible transaction. The shareholders have now decided to formally launch a competitive process to unlock maximum value, said the people cited above.
Even though no private equity funds will be allowed to bid, feelers are expected to go out to a range of entities including Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Dabur India and PepsiCo among others.
"Both partnership and a full sale option is on the table," said an executive aware of the matter. Depending on the final bids, they will take a call on exiting completely.
GA declined to comment. Capital Foods chairman Gupta said the company has been in talks with bankers for a potential initial public offering by next year. "I am unaware of any strategic stake sale before our IPO. We are a cash-rich company and bringing in more investors doesn't make sense," Gupta told ET. Invus was not available for comment.
HUL said it doesn't comment on market speculation. Spokespersons of Nestle, Tata Consumer, Dabur declined to comment. Kraft Heinz, ITC, Nissin, Orkla, McCormick didn't respond to queries till the time of going to press.
The company's owners are US PE group General Atlantic (35%), European family office and investment arm Invus Group (40%) and former ad executive turned food entrepreneur and founder chairman Ajay Gupta (25%).
They have mandated Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for the entire company at a $1.5-2 billion valuation or a significant minority stake and then take the company public. A formal auction process is due to begin in the coming weeks.
At multiple points, global food and beverage giants Nestle, Kraft Heinz, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Orkla, Nissin Foods and McCormick as well as domestic ones such as ITC and Tata Consumer Products have approached the shareholders for a possible transaction. The shareholders have now decided to formally launch a competitive process to unlock maximum value, said the people cited above.
Even though no private equity funds will be allowed to bid, feelers are expected to go out to a range of entities including Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Dabur India and PepsiCo among others.
"Both partnership and a full sale option is on the table," said an executive aware of the matter. Depending on the final bids, they will take a call on exiting completely.
GA declined to comment. Capital Foods chairman Gupta said the company has been in talks with bankers for a potential initial public offering by next year. "I am unaware of any strategic stake sale before our IPO. We are a cash-rich company and bringing in more investors doesn't make sense," Gupta told ET. Invus was not available for comment.
HUL said it doesn't comment on market speculation. Spokespersons of Nestle, Tata Consumer, Dabur declined to comment. Kraft Heinz, ITC, Nissin, Orkla, McCormick didn't respond to queries till the time of going to press.
Read More News on
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
...moreDownload The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
