F&B Asia Ventures Ltd, a pan-Asian food and beverage business platform promoted and controlled by private equity firm Everstone Capital, will invest up to Rs 85 crore (approximately $13.4 million) in restaurateur Zorawar Kalra's Massive Restaurants, which runs the Indian-themed Masala Library, Made in Punjab and Farzi Cafe chain of restaurants and cafes.
The deal enables F&B Asia Ventures to integrate its Indian restaurants business with Delhi-based Massive Restaurants’ management.
The fine dining restaurant chain will use the funding received to strengthen its presence across India and in overseas market such as the US, the UK and the Middle East.
Massive Restaurants was founded in 2012 by Zorawar Kalra, son of celebrity food writer and chef Jiggs Kalra, in partnership with Mirah Group, the owner of Rajdhani Thali and QSR chain Falafels.
Last year, Zorawar Kalra had told VCCircle that the firm plans to raise Rs 50 crore to open 35 outlets in the next five years; of them, 25 or more would be ‘Made in Punjab’.
Lodha Capital Markets acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Massive Restaurants in this transaction.
Everstone Capital has invested Rs 1,200 crore in F&B Asia, which has under it fold assets such as Pind BalluchI, Harry's, The Disgruntled Chef, besides local franchise of Domino's in Indonesia and Burger King in India and Indonesia, among others.
Everstone Capital’s portfolio also includes Blue Foods that runs brands like Spaghetti Kitchen, Noodle Bar, Bombay Blue and Copper Chimney, and JS Hospitality Services that owns the brand, Pind Balluchi.
F&B Asia also counts Everstone's LP Verlinvest as a shareholder.
In another private funding deal in the restaurant business, early this week Delhi-based Azure Hospitality Pvt Ltd, which runs a pan-Asian casual dining chain under the Mamagoto brand besides QSR chains Rollmaal and Speedy Chow, secured $10 million (about Rs 64 crore) from global financial services giant Goldman Sachs.