Adigas in talks to sell stake in biz

New Silk Route Partners May Acquire A Share

The heightened global investor appetite for local cuisine may see Adigas,a chain of south Indian vegetarian restaurants and fast-food joints,offload shares to a private equity investor to fuel its expansion plans.
The $1.4-billion New Silk Route Partners is holding talks to buy a big stake in the KN Vasudev Adiga-promoted Bangalore restaurant network,valuing it at about Rs 200 crore,said three sources directly briefed on the matter.

KN Vasudev Adiga denied fund-raising plans as market speculation.New Silk Route Partners declined to comment.

The Adigas,which gained high visibility in the past decade,made news when Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy signed it up for the wedding functions of his daughter in Bangalore a couple of years ago.
A Mumbai-based boutique investment bank is advising the Adigas on the possible induction of a financial investor.The PE investor could emerge as the largest shareholder,but the promoter family would continue to manage the growing business,said a source.Secondgeneration entrepreneur K N Vasudev Adiga started the restaurant chain in the early 1990s as an offshoot of Brahmins Coffee Bar in Basavanagudi,started by his father,late K V Nageshwar Adiga,in 1965.The Adigas operates 12 multi-cuisine restaurant chains,fast-food joints and catering services,with annualized revenue estimated at a little over Rs 80 crore.

The food-and-beverage street has attracted significant private equity investment and consolidation.Cuisine Asia,jointly owned by Everstone Capital and marque Belgian family office Verlinvest SA,has propelled Blue Foods operators of Copper Chimney,Noodle Bar and Bombay Blue to buy stakes in a slew of standalone restaurants.

TASTY BITES OF SWEET DEALS

India Equity Partners bought Sagar Ratna,a Delhi-based south Indian restaurant business,in 2001 Everstone acquired big stake in north Indian food chain Pind Balluchi Norways Orkla bought MTR Foods UKs Actis acquired food-and-grocery retailer Nilgiris in 2006

PIE GETS BIGGER

Investors have pumped in $400 million in food and-beverage sector;family-owned localized restaurants catch PEs eye because of their low-cost,high-value proposition