NSR buys Moshe's Fine Foods
New Silk Route (NSR) has acquired a majority stake in Mumbai-based Moshe’s Fine Foods, which runs a chain of Mediterranean cuisine restaurants and cafés. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The chain operates seven cafés, two restaurants and one takeaway in Mumbai under the name Moshe's and will expand to Pune, Bangalore and New Delhi over the next two years, Jacob Kurian, partner at NSR Advisors, told LiveMint.
The firm expects Moshe's to be a INR3 billion ($47.9 million) business in 3-5 years.
This is the second acquisition under NSR's plan to build a domestic casual dining conglomerate in India, after it bought a significant minority stake last year in Vasudev Adiga's Fast Food, a Bangalore-based chain that specializes in south Indian cuisine.
The companies will be part of the GP's food and beverage (F&B) holding company platform Gastronomy Management Services.
"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," Parag Saxena, NSR's CEO and founding general partner, told AVCJ. All brands under the holding company will be run as individual businesses, with separate chief executives.
New Silk Route has set aside $100 million to invest in Indian F&B firms. The investment team is looking to invest in a North Indian Punjabi cuisine chain and another that makes Indian Chinese, best defined as an adaptation of Chinese cooking and seasoning techniques to suit Indian tastes.
India's dining industry is popular with private equity as a means of tapping into rising urban disposable incomes. The country's food and beverage market is worth an estimated INR8.97 trillion, according to retail consultant Technopak Advisors.
Everstone Capital has also set up a Mauritius-based holding company, Cuisine Asia, to manage its food and beverage assets, which include Blue Foods and the New Delhi-based Park Balluchi and Pind Balluchi brands.
Recent transactions in the sector include CX Partners picking up a minority stake in the Barbeque Nation chain for INR1.1 billion, Beacon India Private Equity investing INR80 million in Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality and India Equity Partners acquiring a majority stake in Sagar Ratna for $35 million.
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