Max, Goldman invest $5m in India's Azure

The deal represents the second Azure round for Goldman and the maiden investment from Max Ventures & Industries (MVIL), which was recently formed through a three-way demerger of Max India. According to a statement, the firm aims to leverage the $100 billion Indian food industry which is growing at a compound annual rate of 16%.

"Within the sectors that we are actively considering for investment, we particularly favored Azure Hospitality because of the vision of its founders, their values, the scale they have demonstrated and the potential for profitable growth," said Sahil Vachani, managing director at MVIL. "The strong fundamentals of Azure coupled with huge growth prospects within the sector make this an exciting opportunity for MVIL."

Established in 2009, Azure owns and operates mid-scale casual dining restaurant chain Mamagoto, quick-service Indian and Chinese street food company Speedy Chow/Roll Maal and an institutional catering service. It has 700 employees nationwide and claims to have increased revenue by more than 50% year-on-year over the past five years.

MVIL plans to invest in early-stage Indian companies across high-growth industries such as food, hospitality, healthcare, fintech, education, real estate and senior living. This approach will incorporate mentoring services through accelerators. The newly formed VC will operate alongside sister holding companies Max India and Max Financial Services, the latter of which attracted an INR9.5 billion investment from KKR earlier this year.

Goldman first invested in Azure last year with an INR650 million commitment earmarked for a strategic expansion.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Expansion
• Venture
• Early-stage
• India
• Goldman Sachs