Ready-to-cook packaged food maker iD Fresh Food (India) Pvt. Ltd is looking to raise $100 million from private equity investors in a new funding round at a valuation of about ₹4,000 crore ($486 million), multiple people aware of the potential deal said.
The company, which has been selling dosa and idli batter since 2005, is in initial discussions with several large-sized private equity firms, including overseas investors, the people said, requesting anonymity.
Homegrown private equity firm Kedaara Capital and US alternative investment firm KKR are among the interested bidders, one of the people said.
The Bengaluru-based firm has hired investment bank Investec to scout for potential suitors, the second person said.
“The company’s existing investors too will participate in this new funding round,” the person added.
iD Fresh Food, which is backed by Premji Invest, last raised ₹507 crore from NewQuest Capital Partners, a private equity (PE) firm focused on emerging markets, in January this year.
The funding round saw the company’s first institutional backer Helion Ventures make an exit with a tenfold return on investment.
While Premji Invest, the private investment firm of Wipro Ltd chairman Azim Premji invested in iD Fresh Food in 2017, Helion backed the company in 2014 with an investment of ₹35 crore.
Queries emailed to iD Fresh Food, Investec, KKR and Kedaara Capital did not elicit any response.
Founded by P.C. Musthafa, Abdul Naser and his brothers, iD Fresh Food sells its food products in more than 45 cities through 30,000 retail stores in India, UAE and the US.
It offers varied natural and healthy products such as idli and dosa batter, malabar parota, wheat parota, wheat chapati, creamy paneer, instant filter coffee liquid and sandwich white bread.
iD Fresh Food co-founder and chief executive Musthafa said in an interview in July that the company is earning a third of its revenue from its operations in the UAE and expects the share to rise in the coming years on the back of demand from the Indian diaspora.
The company is looking to start operations in Delhi, Kolkata, the US and the UK as part of its expansion plans.
The company, which is aiming to clock ₹700 crore in revenue this financial year. It posted revenue of ₹415 crore last year while breaking even during the period.
In July, the company issued its seventh Esop (employee stock option plan) tranche worth ₹46 crore.
Since 2016, the company has granted around ₹300 crore worth of Esops to employees.
Last year, the company opened the world’s largest idli-dosa factory at Anekal in Karnataka with an investment of close to ₹50 crore.
Its fully automated ‘Giant Kitchen’ produces more than 100,000 kg batter and 300,000 parotas per day.
debjyoti.roy@livemint.com
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