Hector Beverages raises Rs 183 crore in fresh round of funding from new and existing investors - ET Retail
Summary
Independent investors Kanwaljit Singh and Shripad Nadkarni and a few other early backers of the company invested the remaining sum.Supporting a talented team, and one that has disrupted production and distribution of traditional Indian recipes, fits in Sofinas overall strategy as a long-term supporter of talented investors and entrepreneurs in growth markets, Maxence Tombeur, head of Asia at Sofina Group, said in a statement to ET.Tombeur will be on the board of Hector along with David Rhee, partner at Hillhouse Captial.Hector was in the market 8-10 months earlier to raise funds at a valuation of Rs 300 crore-Rs 350 crore, according to people familiar with the matter. TA Associates and TPG Capital had expressed interest but decided against investing as they deemed the pricing high, these people said, declining to be identified.Consumer companies in India have seen their valuations grow through the roof in the past 12-18 months, often 6 times revenue multiples for established brands.In June, SAIF Partners-backed Mango Sip maker Manpasand Beverages debuted on the stock exchange at a valuation estimated at Rs 1,600 crore, a jump of 88% in one year. Then, there is interest (from) private equity players.A consortium of PE funds is in talks to acquire the franchise rights for Yum Brands, which operates Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco bell, for about $100 million (Rs 634.2 crore), according to sources aware of the development. Separately, Ajay Relan-led CX Partners recently put in about Rs 213 crore in casual-dining chain Barbeque Nation.Hector will set up a third factory in Mysore later this year with a manufacturing capacity of 8 million units a month. We sell about 7-8 million units a month, said Kakkar.In April, the company sewed a partnership with Japans Indo Nissin Foods that helped it expand into small towns and villages and double its retail contact points to 30,000.