ITC, PepsiCo, TPG, Temasek… After Haldiram, the world is after this Indian company
After Haldiram, many big companies are in line to buy stake in another snacks company Balaji Wafers. Big companies like ITC and PepsiCo are in the race to buy 10% stake in Balaji Wafers. Apart from these, private equity funds like TPG and Singapore’s government investment company Temasek are also involved in it. For this deal, the value of Balaji Wafers is being estimated to be around ₹ 40,000 crore.
A source said that some strategic investors and private equity companies are talking together about this. Some investors are showing interest in buying more than 10% stake. The talks are still in the initial stage. This is the second time PepsiCo is trying to buy stake in Balaji Wafers. Balaji Wafers has a good dominance in western and central India.
Desi companies’ blast
In 2013 too, PepsiCo had talked about buying stake from Balaji Wafers. At that time, PepsiCo’s global CEO Indira Nooyi was also very excited about this deal. But, PepsiCo wanted to buy 49-51% stake while Balaji Wafers’ owner Virani family was not ready to sell this much stake. Therefore, this deal could not happen.
Investors’ interest in desi snack brands is increasing. In March, global investors IHC, Alpha Wave Global and Singapore’s Temasek together bought about 10% stake in Haldiram Snack Food. In this deal, Haldiram’s value was estimated at more than $ 10 billion. This was the biggest deal till date in the domestic packaged food sector.
ITC vs PepsiCo
The giant FMCG company ITC started its snack brand Bingo in the year 2007. Bingo sells potato wafers and namkeen. But Bingo is facing tough competition from big companies. Bingo has to compete in both western and traditional snacks. On the other hand, PepsiCo is ahead in western snacks like chips and nachos, but its share in traditional snacks is decreasing. Regional brands are overtaking it.
A source said that now the snack market has completely changed. Small brands are dominating the snack market. Joining hands with a regional giant like Balaji will help PepsiCo to penetrate regional markets and synergize manufacturing. ITC, PepsiCo and Temasek did not answer the questions asked about this. TPG also refused to comment. Balaji Wafers founder and MD Chandubhai Virani could not be contacted.
