New Silk Route to buy Nando’s India franchise – report

The local rights to the Portuguese-style restaurant chain are currently held by Nandos Indage Restaurants, owned by the Chougule family who are best known for wine-making. According to The Times of India, the Chougules would retain a minority stake in the business.

The plan was to open more than 80 Nando's outlets across India in four years, but financial difficulties at Indage Vintners, also owned by the Chougules, have held back growth. It is expected that NSR would resurrect this plan.

The private equity firm told AVCJ earlier this year that it wanted to create the Yum Brands of India by consolidating the country's fragmented quick service restaurant space. The first piece in the jigsaw puzzle fell into place in April with the acquisition of a significant minority stake in Vasudev Adiga's Fast Food, a Bangalore-based chain that specializes in south Indian cuisine.

It took about six months to close the deal but Parag Saxena, NSR's CEO and founding general partner, said another could follow reasonably soon.

"There were five companies on the shortlist and, after the Adiga's deal, we narrowed it down to three, of which we will pick one," he said. "We will put them under one holding company in order to make the most of the synergies. Companies have different needs but some functions can be managed together, such as HR and real estate."

India's dining industry is popular with private equity as a means of tapping into rising urban disposable incomes. Recent transactions include Beacon India Private Equity investing INR80 million ($1.5 million) in Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality and India Equity Partners acquiring a majority stake in Sagar Ratna for $35 million, both of which are closer to the fine dining space than Adiga's.

As for fast food, ICICI Venture invested $33 million in Devyani International, which has franchise rights for KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee in certain areas. NSR has also backed Coffee Day Group, India's largest coffee shop chain.

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• Topics
• Consumer
• South Asia
• Buyouts
• India
• NSR New Silk Route Partners
• Consumer
• buyout