Bhujia worth billions: The global race for a bite of Haldiram's

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Haldiram Snacks Food Pvt Ltd, the 87-year-old legacy brand which is India’s largest snack and convenience foods company. Earlier, it was reported that Haldiram’s promoters were planning to sell a controlling 51 per cent stake, but now a new report says they are looking to offload 10-15 per cent minority stake.

Many global investors have been vying to buy a stake in the cash-rich and profitable company which has a long legacy of manufacturing the iconic Indian savoury snack, Bikaneri bhujia.

Early this month, Bloomberg reported based on information from sources that Temasek Holdings Pte. was in talks to buy a minority stake in Haldiram, a transaction that would have valued India’s biggest snack maker at about $11 billion.

ET had reported a few months ago that Bain Capital had teamed up with Singapore’s Temasek to compete with Blackstone-led consortium for a controlling stake in Haldiram as large buyout funds vied for what could be the largest private equity acquisition in India so far.

The Bain and Temasek combination submitted a non-binding offer in May, valuing India’s largest snack and convenience foods company at $8-8.5 billion (Rs 66,400-70,500 crore), after initially engaging with the founding family of the 87-year-old brand separately, people aware of the matter had told ET. Earlier, ET had reported that Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity fund, had teamed up with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC for a bid to acquire up to 76% of the company.