F&B companies Seek Voila F9 Gourmet For Majority Stakes
F&B companies Seek Voila F9 Gourmet For Majority Stakes

Almost half a dozen global food and beverage (F&B) firms are planning to win a majority stake in Voila F9 Gourmet, which owns India’s largest commercial kitchen, valuing the company at about Rs 300 crore, said two persons familiar with the matter.

The firm which has its headquarters at Hyderabad supplies to some of the large global technology firms in the city with its commercial kitchen, which is spread over 60,000 square feet on a two acre plot and has a capacity to produce 50,000 meals a day. Its clients include Google, Facebook, Uber, Deloitte, Qualcomm, DE Shaw & Co and Arcesium.

A person wishing anonymity said, “The home-grown F&B firm has been competing with global F&B giants such as Compass and Sodexo in institutional catering for over a decade now. It has attracted the attention of global F&B players with its attractive growth rates and EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation and amortisation) margins.”

He said, “Going by its EBIDTA margins in high teens, the company is estimated to obtain a valuation of around Rs 300 crore. The global F&B firms are keen to acquire a controlling stake.”

Vijay Amritraj, Chief Executive, Voila F9 Gourmet’s confirmed that a few global F&B firms have evinced interest and that the company has appointed merchant bankers to help bring in suitable strategic partners. However, he declined to reveal informations about prospective strategic partners and merchant bankers, citing non-disclosure agreements.

Out of its total annual revenue of Rs 85 crore from contract catering business, the company earns the balance from banqueting business that it entered recently by securing a few large contracts to manage banquets and convention centres.

Amritraj said, “Last year, we executed the Global Citizen Festival in Mumbai, where we catered to over 80,000 people on a single day. Apart from executing F&B projects for high-profile events like Sensation, IIFA and IPL, we were called to specially cater to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited Hyderabad to attend the DGPs’ conference.”

He said, “In a bid to cater to the needs of large global firms that also have a presence in Bengaluru and Gurgaon, Voila F9 Gourmet has chalked out an expansion plan at an estimated investment of Rs 10-15 crore per city. The expansion could either be through greenfield route or acquisition of existing kitchens there.

 
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