Global private equity firm Advent International is in early discussions to acquire a stake in one of India’s largest potato processors, Iscon Balaji Foods (IBF), two people familiar with the matter said.
“The private equity firm is looking to acquire a 25% stake in the company at a valuation of ₹5,000 crore,” one of the people cited above.
“The talks are still premature,” the second person said, adding that the company has seen a lot of inbound interest from private equity firms post capital infusion by 360 ONE Asset earlier this year.
The potential deal underscores rising private equity appetite for India’s fast-scaling frozen foods and quick-service restaurant (QSR) supply chain ecosystem. IBF operates in the $60 billion global frozen potato products market, a segment benefiting from expanding , rising processed food consumption and export demand.
Advent declined to comment while Iscon Balaji did not respond till the time of publishing.
The development comes over two months after 360 One announced plan to invest $70 million in the company, that also exports potato products. The fresh capital will be used towards IBF’s next phase of growth, including significant capacity expansion, deepening of farmer-linked supply chains, upgrading processing and cold-chain infrastructure, launch of new value-added product lines, and expansion into additional international markets, the company said in a statement.
Investor momentum
IBF benefits from India’s agronomic advantages, cost leadership and proprietary strengths in seeds, R&D and long-term customer relationships, positioning the company to become a globally scaled food processing platform.
Broadly, the food services and the restaurant industry has seen renewed interest from investors over the past few weeks. Some recent transactions include Burma Burma capital raise of over ₹38 crore from existing investor Negen Capital and new investors Endurance Capital and Coheron Wealth. Burger Singh also raised ₹82 crore in a round led by Artal Asia Pte Ltd alongside Negen Undiscovered Value Fund and Aurum Rising India Fund.
Competitive landscape
Iscon Balaji directly competes with McCain Foods, Hyfun Foods, and Siddhi Vinayak Agri Processing in the processing sector. Others include Bikaji Foods, , and Balaji Wafers, as per online reports. Some of these companies have also raised or are in the process of raising capital from private equity investors.
Founded in 2013, IBF operates a fully integrated, export-oriented platform spanning seed development, farmer partnerships, large-scale processing, and global distribution. The company was backed by the JP Iscon family and the Balaji Wafers family in its early years, helping kickstart operations and scale its integrated model.
Integrated model
Over the past decade, the company claims to have grown into one of the world’s top 10 frozen potato processors, supplying leading QSR and foodservice customers across India, Southeast Asia, , and the Far East.
IBF has partnered with more than 10,000 farmers through its contract farming and proprietary seed development programme, and has enabled consistent quality, traceability, and higher farm-level productivity.
With 360 One’s investment, IBF plans to expand this network to over 25,000 farmers over the next three years, strengthening rural incomes while creating one of the most resilient and scalable supply chains in the global food industry, the company said in January.
Financial snapshot
In December, Crisil noted that the company has an established presence in potato-based products such as potato flakes, frozen french fries and other ready-to-fry snacks. With operations overseen by Neel Kotak, its customers include established players in fast moving consumer goods segment.
It has manufacturing facilities in Gujarat and Punjab— regions with high potato acreage and quality crops. This provides the company with easy access to quality raw material and contract farmed potatoes from local farmers.
The company also benefits in terms of infrastructure and logistics because of established cold storage, adequate power availability, lower transportation cost and accessibility to ports for exports, the credit rating agency said in the report.
In FY25, the company reported an operating income of ₹1,488.9 crore as compared to ₹1,186.06 crore, a year earlier. Its net profit narrowed to ₹165.23 crore from ₹263.37 crore in FY24.