A91 Partners, NewQuest Capital Partners, TR Capital and others are in separate talks for a minority stake in beverage brand Paper Boat owned by Hector Beverages Pvt. Ltd, two people in the know told The Economic Times.
In a fresh funding round, Paper Boat may raise up to $30 million (Rs 213 crore at current exchange rate) at a valuation of $200 million (Rs 1,419 crore at current exchange rate), said one of the people. Existing Belgian investor Sofina Capital may participate in the round, and a few others may make partial exits, said the person.
Paper Boat last raised funding in October 2017 from Trifecta Venture Debt Fund I, securing Rs 75 crore, according to VCCEdge, the data intelligence platform of News Corp VCCircle.
Founded in 2009 by former Coca-Cola India employees Neeraj Kumar Kakkar and Neeraj Biyani, Paper Boat is known for its beverages like aam panna, aamras, anar, chilli guava, jaljeera and kokum drinks. Paper Boat posted a 71% increase in revenue at Rs 118 crore for 2017-18, from Rs 69 crore the previous year. Its target for this year is Rs 200 crore. The nine-year-old company trimmed its loss for the last financial year, and in May claimed to have posted a profit on an operational basis, or before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.
