ITC may munch on Peak XV's 47% stake in Prataap Snacks
ITC is evaluating the purchase of a 47% stake held by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital) in listed Prataap Snacks, said people with knowledge of the matter. This follows the failure of talks with Haldiram's owing to a valuation mismatch. Prataap is best known for Yellow Diamond chips and traditional Indian namkeen under the Avadh brand. Listed Bikaji Foods, another large snacks company, had also looked at the deal but those negotiations also fizzled out, said people in the know.
Buyout funds KKR, TA Associates and Apax are among others that have been tapped since Peak XV initiated a plan to fully exit its nearly 13-year-old investment in Prataap and hired Deutsche Bank to sell the company.
The transaction if successful will trigger an open offer for an additional 26% of the Indore-based company, which has been a laggard ever since its stock market debut in 2017 when it listed at a 33% premium. Prataap ended 1% down at ₹1,174.45 for a market value of ₹2,802.19 crore on Wednesday.
ITC, which sells Bingo chips and namkeen among other products, sees Prataap giving it significant headroom in regional pockets, especially when its own brands haven't been able to win a significant share in those territories due to stiff local competition.
An ITC spokesperson said: «We do not comment on market speculation.» Prataap Snacks managing director Amit Kumar didn't respond to queries and neither did TA Associates. KKR declined to comment.
An email query sent to Peak XV remained unanswered.
According to the FY23 annual
