Real estate developer Embassy Group’s managing director Jitendra Virwani has acquired a majority stake in JSM Corporation Pvt. Ltd, which operates the Indian franchises of Hard Rock Café and California Pizza Kitchen, a daily reported
Virwani told The Times of India that he has bought a little over “60% stake in the company from PremjiInvest and Jay Singh, one of the co-founders of JSM Corp.
Virwani, along with the other co-founder, Sanjay Mahtani, now hold a 95% stake in the company, the report added.
JSM Corp also operates other restaurant brands, including Shiro, Asilo, Ginger Tiger, The Big Kahuna and Plus 91.
Gaja Capital
The food and beverage space saw yet another deal with Gaja Capital picking up a significant minority stake in dining chain operator Massive Restaurants Pvt. Ltd for Rs 160 crore ($24.8million).
Gaja Capital’s managing partner Gopal Jain told The Economic Times that the mid-market-focussed private equity firm has identified premium dining as an opportunity to get into the F&B space, and Massive Restaurants fits into its scheme of things perfectly.
Massive Restaurants was founded in 2012 in partnership with the Mirah Group, the owner of Rajdhani Thali and QSR chain Falafels. In 2015, it had raised Rs 85 crore ($134 million) from Everstone Capital.
KKR eyes exit
Global private equity firm KKR is looking to sell its 49% stake in content production firm Endemol India Pvt. Ltd for Rs 450-700 crore, ET reported.
Endemol India, which operates under Endemol Shine India, produces unscripted television shows such as Big Boss, Fear Factor and MasterChef India. It is majority owned by The Netherlands-based Endemol Shine Group.
According to the report, KKR had got the stake following its acquisition of the media investment portfolio of CA Media. The Chernin Group’s Asian investment arm, CA Media, had bought the 49% stake in Endemol India in 2012.
Foxconn investment
Taiwan-based contract electronics maker Foxconn is looking to set up a 200-acre manufacturing plant in the special economic zone of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Mumbai.
It may invest Rs 6,000 crore in the project, ET said, citing people aware of the development. The project is expected to provide employment to about 40,000 people.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari told the business daily that the company had requested for the land. The JNPT SEZ is expected to receive a total investment of Rs 60,000 crore, he added.
