The US-Based KKR's Plan to Purchase a Share in Rebel Foods has been Approved by CCI

The application by private equity (PE) giant KKR to purchase a share in cloud kitchen upstart Rebel Foods has been approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The CCI announced that Royce Asia Holdings, a subsidiary of KKR, will purchase an undisclosed quantity of the startup's shares and compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) through a secondary transaction.

Therefore, since the proposed transaction won't have a negative impact on competition in India, the relevant market need not be specified and can remain open in the absence of any horizontally overlapping and/or vertically complementary commercial operations of the parties in India. According to a statement from the CCI, the proposed transaction is being submitted through the green channel process. If a transaction does not pose a significant risk of having a negative impact on competition, it is considered permitted via the green channel method after being communicated to the CCI.

Funds are Expected to be Raised at a Valuation of $800 Mn to $860 Mn

This development occurs a few days after it was reported that KKR was prepared to purchase shares from Rebel Foods' current investors, such as Peak XV Partners and Coatue, for between $50 million and $75 million through a secondary sale. The funds are expected to be raised at a valuation of $800 million to $860 million, according to various media reports. In its Series G round, which was headed by Temasek and included current backer Evolvence, Rebel Foods raised an incredible $210 million last week. There were both main and secondary deals in the round. Rebel Foods was established in 2011 by Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Banerjee. It runs a number of quick-service restaurant (QSR) brands, including Wendy's, Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza, The Good Bowl, and SLAY Coffee.

Funding Till Date And Financial Report Card

With support from companies like Lightbox and Evolvence, among others, the firm has secured over $773 million in capital so far. According to reports from October of this year, the cloud kitchen unicorn planned to list on the Indian stock exchanges within the next 12 to 18 months. In terms of finances, Rebel Foods was able to reduce its net loss from INR 656.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year to INR 378.2 Cr in the fiscal year 2023–24 (FY24), a 42% reduction. From INR 1,195.2 Cr in FY23 to INR 1,420.2 Cr, operating revenue increased by 19%.

Among its rivals are Tiger Global-funded Eatclub and Curefoods, which is supported by Binny Bansal. Temasek Holdings, a sovereign wealth fund based in Singapore, was approved by CCI last month to purchase a share in Rebel Foods.

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StartupTalkyNitin Konde