Yum! Brands franchisee Sapphire Foods bags Rs 1,150 cr from Creador, others

One of the largest franchisee of Yum! Brands in Indian subcontinent Sapphire Foods has raised Rs 1,150 crore funds from private equity funds led by Creador, NewQuest Capital Partners and TR Capital.

The Samara Capital-promoted brand operates close to 435 stores of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants across India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

In addition, Sapphire Foods has also raised a direct round of growth capital from Creador and the new money is a mix of primary and secondary rounds, Sapphire said on Monday without disclosing the equity dilution.

The investment is flowing into its holding company, Sapphire Foods Mauritius, an entity promoted by Samara Capital, the statement said.

"The money will be used to fund the new store expansion as we feel the business has a strong foundation and is on an inflection point, apart from providing partial exit for a few investors," shared Sanjay Purohit, CEO, Sapphire Foods without disclosing the name of investors who have partially cashed out.

Avendus Capital acted as exclusive financial advisor to Sapphire and UBS Investment Bank acted as exclusive financial advisor to Samara Capital.

“The QSR chain segment, largely represented by global brands, is the fastest growing segment within the organised food services market in the country. Sapphire Foods, by leveraging customer loyalty to the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands is well-positioned to capture further opportunities and expand into other product lines or markets,” added Sumeet Narang, Founder and MD, Samara India Advisors.

Founded in 2007, Samara Capital, is a mid-market private equity firm and its investors include high quality institutional investors and family offices from around the globe. Sapphire Foods is backed by marquee investors such as Samara Capital, Goldman Sachs, CX Partners and Edelweiss.