Founded by Ganga Bishan Agarwal in the 1930s in north India, Haldiram’s sells a range of foods from sweet and savory snacks to frozen meals and breads.The owners of Haldiram Snacks Pvt Ltd. are considering an initial public offering (IPO) for the food producer and restaurant operator after plans to sell to foreign investors stalled, according to Bloomberg report.
Haldiram‘s has been making headlines as reports of interest from major privateequity firms like Blackstone, Bain Capital, and Singapore’s Temasek emerge.
The brand, which began as a modest sweet shop in Bikaner, Rajasthan, boasts a substantial market presence, with a combined revenue nearing Rs 9,000 crore and products available in over seven million global outlets.
As the snack giant denies reports of Haldiram’s stake acquisition, here is a closer examination of the brand, its history, sales interest, and global expansion.
The Agarwal family is considering a listing as bids in the region of $8 billion to $8.5 billion didn’t meet its valuation expectations of about $12 billion, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
The company known as Haldiram’s received bids in May from a Blackstone Inc.-led consortium featuring Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and GIC Pte, as well as one led by Bain & Co. and Temasek Holdings Pte, local media has reported.
The IPO considerations are still in the preliminary stages, and the controlling shareholders might still choose to lower their asking price and proceed with a sale, the sources added.On May 14, reports emerged that Blackstone in partnership with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and GIC, aimed to bid for stake acquisition of up to 76 per cent of Haldiram’s Snacks Food Pvt Ltd.
While Haldiram Foods International is led by the Nagpur faction, Haldiram Snacks is led by the Delhi faction.The Nagpur-based faction registered Rs 3,622 crore in revenue in FY22.
The Delhi-based Haldiram Snacks Private Limited clocked Rs 5,248 crore in sales in the same fiscal year, as per a last month report published by IANS.There have been other attempts in the past to acquire the food chain, especially by Venture Capitalist firms like Bain Capital, Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic, according to reports.
