Reports note that Marathon Edge is likely to retain a 12 to 15 per cent stake after the transaction
Showing interest in India’s western dessert-focused quick service restaurant (QSR) chain, Vixar has acquired a 45 per cent stake in Belgian Waffle Co for about Rs 770 crore, as per media reports. The deal was signed over the weekend.
The reports noted that the deal amount values the company at around Rs 1,700 crore. Owning the single largest block, the investment consortium will emerge as the controlling shareholder. The reports noted that alongside Vixar (formerly Arpwood Partners), Vallabh Bhansali and HDFC Asset Management Co also participated in the investment.
Post the transaction, Marathon Edge is likely to retain a 12 to 15 per cent stake, with the rest staying with Ankit Patel and the founders Shrey Aggarwal and Alisha Shirodkar. The reports pointed out that the company clocked Rs 450 crore in revenues in the previous financial year (FY25). The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) stood at Rs 62 crore, the reports noted.
The Belgian Waffle Co was founded in 2015 and has over 700 stores in 250 cities, the reports added. Vixar has invested around Rs 5,500 crore in over seven family-owned businesses in the country since 2015. Lodha Capital Markets advised Belgian Waffle on the transaction.
The reports emphasised that the development comes amid increased activity in the country’s food services sector as global and premium café and patisserie brands are strengthening their presence. With the organised segment outpacing the unorganised segment in terms of growth, India’s food services market will cross USD 125 billion by 2030, as per a report by Swiggy.
The organised segment will drive over 60 per cent of the overall growth in food services and overtake the unorganised segment. Swiggy released a report titled How India Eats, in partnership with Kearney, and highlighted that food services presents a massive headroom for growth with contribution of 1.9 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in India, as compared to 5 per cent in China and 6 per cent in Brazil.
