SAIF buys 20 pc stake in Mainland China

New Delhi, Jan 24: SAIF Partners, a leading Asian private equity firm, has picked up 20 pc stake in Speciality Restaurants Pvt Ltd (SRPL), an Indian food services company that owns speciality fine dining restaurant chains Mainland China and Oh!Calcutta, for Rs 90 crore.

Confirming the deal, Chatterjee, who"s chairman and managing director of the company, informed that “the valuation we have received from SAIF is extremely good.'' The deal will lead the way to institutionalise the restaurant business in India, which is mostly fragmented and owner-driven. The deal would also bring in a global perspective and will prompt other businesses in the sector to adopt the best practices followed internationally, which would eventually lead to a global industry alignment, he aded.

Ravi Adusumalli, General Partner, SAIF Partners, said, “fine dining industry in India is at an inflexion point due to favourable economic and demographic drivers, further aided by greater acceptance of international cuisine by consumers. We are confident that Speciality Restaurants is ideally positioned to capitalise on the market opportunity."

SAIF has investments in IL&FS Investsmart, NSE Sify, Asian Health and Nutri Foods Ltd, Home Shop 18, Jindal Polyfilms, JustDial and makemytrip.com, among others.

Speciality currently has an annual turnover of Rs 100 crore. Chatterjee is hoping that the turnover will touch Rs 200 crore by the end of 2008. He added that Speciality will raise money through a public issue by 2011, when its turnover is expected to be around Rs 350 crore.

Sources