He said the Azim Premji-backed company has started talks with private equity funds and an agreement is expected to be signed in early November.
People said that with its third round of funding, the company would be valued at Rs 1,800-2,000 crore. Kotak Mahindra Capital has been hired to drive this process.
In the proposed round, existing investor Helion Ventures is expected to sell its 17% stake, while an additional 5-6% stake will be reduced to primary capital.
As an initial investor, Helion had invested Rs 35 crore to acquire the stake in 2014. Premji’s investment arm PremjiInvest has invested $25 million for a 25% stake.
With the primary capital, ID plans to enter new markets such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. It will also expand to markets like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait in the next 2-3 months.
Also read technical news of the day
PC Mustafa, Chief Executive and Co-Founder id fresh Food, declined to comment.
Sanjeev Agarwal, founder and senior managing director of Helion Ventures, did not respond to calls or emails.
The company posted revenue of Rs 294 crore in FY21.
One of the people said that in the current financial year, it expects to cross Rs 450 crore in revenue.
Established in 2005 as a small store selling idli and dosa batter, ID currently caters to over 30,000 retail stores in 45 cities across India, the Middle East and the United States.
It distributes around 65,000 kg of idli and dosa batter per day, as well as other items such as Malabar paratha, vada batter, chapati, bread, paneer, curd, grated coconut and instant filter coffee liquid.
Recently, iD also launched its own bread brand iD Bread.
In the backdrop of increasing demand for ready-to-cook (RTC) food, the major players are expanding their product portfolio. Recently, Tata Consumer Products introduced ready mix under the Tata Sampan brand for making Idli, Dosa and Poha.
The work from home culture post the onset of COVID-19 has increased the demand for RTC food products. RedSeer Consulting said consumer spending on home cooking grew 61% amid the pandemic.
The RTC market in India stood at Rs 2,100 crore in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18% to reach Rs 4,800 crore by 2024.
According to the sales automation firm, the RTC segment has overtaken the level of COVID-19 growth by 100-800 basis points in 2020, even as ready-to-eat products, including snacks and biscuits, continue to dominate the market. After opening it has decreased. Bizom.
Tapping the booming RTC market, private equity funds have made several investments in the recent past. Fresh meat and seafood brand Licious raised $192 million in a Series F funding round led by Temasek Holdings and Domestic. Fund Multiple PE in July