Koshur Samachar

 NEW DELHI, Mar 13: Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign investment firm, is acquiring a minority 10 per cent stake in Haldiram Snacks Food — India’s largest packed snack and sweets company and restaurant operator — at a valuation of USD 10 billion, according to industry sources.

  It has signed a definitive term sheet agreement earlier this week at a valuation of USD 10 billion (around Rs 85,000 crore), which is considered to be the largest for the Indian packed food industry, they said.

The Agarwal family, promoters of Haldiram Snacks Food, may rope another investor for selling some more stake in the company which had a revenue of over Rs 12,500 crore in FY24.

The agreement with Temasek came after months of negotiations as several PE firms, including Blackstone, Alpha Wave Global and Bain Capital-led consortiums, were in the race to pick up a stake in Haldiram Snacks Food.

The Agarwal family may also opt for IPO (Initial public offering) route next year  to capitalise on India’s buoyant stock market.

Earlier, the promoters were intending to divest a larger portion. However, they have decided to offload a minority stake only.

This cash infusion will help Haldiram Snacks Food to fund its expansion plans and expedite its journey in the domestic as well as some of the foreign markets, where it has a presence.

Haldiram Snacks Food is the combined business of the two fractions of the Haldiram family – Delhi and Nagpur.

The National Company Law Tribunal has already approved the process of merger of the two fractions, while other regulatory approvals are awaited.

Established in 1937 as a retail sweets and namkeen shop in Bikaner, Rajasthan by Ganga Bhishen Agarwal, Haldiram products are now sold in over 80 countries.

In 2022, it was announced that the packaged snacks businesses of Delhi-based Haldiram Snacks and Nagpur-based Haldiram Foods International would be first demerged and then merged into an entity named Haldiram Snacks Food. (PTI)