Creador completes Indonesia food carve-out

Godrej, which focuses on home and personal care products, took over the business as part of its acquisition of Megasari Group in 2010. Deciding that the food unit was non-core, the company went as far as hiring HSBC to run a sale until Creador stepped in.

"We got into the process very early," said Brahmal Vasudevan, CEO of Creador, which will officially announce a final close of $132 million on its debut fund at the end of January. "It helped that we know the Godrej guys in India so they were comfortable working with us."

Creador targets investments in Indonesia, Malaysia and India. The private equity firm was set up in 2011 after Vasudevan spun out from Indian GP ChrysCapital Partners.

Simba claims to be the second-largest cereals business in Indonesia after Nestle, with a 17% share. The market grew 16% in value terms between 2006 and 2011, and plenty of upside is expected. Indonesian cereal consumption is among the lowest in Southeast Asia at 0.03 kilograms per capita versus a regional average of 0.21 kg per capita.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's snack food business is said to be worth about $1.5 billion.

"A lot of people are trying to play the Indonesia consumption story but not many have been successful," Vasudevan said. "We found a business and moved very quickly."

Simba's existing management team will stay in place but there is currently no CEO because operations were overseen by the group head of Godrej. Creador has recruited an individual with extensive experience in the food and beverage sector to take the helm. Tan Ang Meng, a senior advisor at the private equity firm who previously served as CEO of Fraser & Neave Holdings, will provide support.

Creador is close to completing a $13 million investment in an Indian financial services company, which will take Fund I to five deals and about two thirds deployed. The other investments are Malaysian restaurant chain Old Town White Coffee, Indonesian pay TV company MNC Skyvision and India's Cholamandalam Investment & Finance.

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Creador
• Consumer
• buyout
• Southeast Asia
• India
• Indonesia