Kedaara Capital has made its first-ever investment in an ice cream brand, Dairy Classic Ice Creams Pvt Ltd (Dairy Day), the private equity firm said on Thursday. The size of the deal has not been disclosed but is believed to be about $150 million, making it one of the largest PE deals in the ice cream sector, a person familiar with the development told Mint.
The investment comes a month after venture capital firm Jungle Ventures made a $20-million follow-up investment in Walko Food, which houses ice-cream brands such as NIC and Grameen Kulfi. On Wednesday, global consumer giant Unilever said it had decided to spin off its ice cream business, which houses brands such as Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s, to cut costs.
“Ice cream is one of the fastest-growing categories within the entire food & beverage segment,” Kedaara’s managing partner Sunish Sharma said. EY acted as the exclusive investment banker on this transaction.
Kedaara said the investment will help Dairy Day further solidify its vision and provide a full exit to Motilal Oswal Private Equity and other angel investors. Kedaara said it will work closely with the promoters, MN Jaganath and A Balaraju, and the company’s management.
“[Kedaara’s] wealth of expertise and in-depth retail and consumer experience will be invaluable as we expedite our growth. We are confident of setting up world-class production facilities in various locations in the coming years,” Dairy Day’s managing director MN Jaganath said.
Founded in 2002, Bengaluru-based Dairy Day claims to have more than 50,000 retailers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra. With revenue growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% over the past decade, the company said it would soon increase its production capacity from 2 lakh litres a day to 3.5 lakh litres a day. It sells a range of products such as candies, sorbet, cones and tubs across general trade, modern trade and online channels.
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