SAPPHIRE FOODS FILES SHARE SALE PAPERS WITH SEBI

NEW DELHI: Sapphire Foods India Ltd, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut outlets, has filed draft papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

The initial share-sale will be entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 17.5 million equity shares by promoters and existing shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

As a part of the OFS, QSR Management Trust will sell 850,000 shares, Sapphire Foods Mauritius Ltd will offload 5.5 million shares, WWD Ruby Ltd will divest 4.8 million shares and Amethyst will offer 3.9 million shares.

In addition, AAJV Investment Trust will sell 80,169 shares, Edelweiss Crossover Opportunities Fund will offload 1.6 million shares and Edelweiss Crossover Opportunities Fund-series II will divest 646,000 shares.

Sapphire Foods, an omnichannel restaurant operator and the largest franchisee of Yum Brands in the Indian subcontinent, is backed by marquee investors such as Samara Capital, Goldman Sachs, CX Partners and Edelweiss.

As of March 31, 2021, Sapphire Foods owned and operated 204 KFC restaurants in India and the Maldives, 231 Pizza Hut restaurants in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and two Taco Bell restaurants in Sri Lanka.

Devyani International, which is the other franchisee of Yum! Brands in India, operates 297 Pizza Hut stores and 264 KFC stores. It launched its ₹1,838crore IPO last week.

On Monday, Sapphire Foods announced that it raised ₹1,150 crore funds through a mix of primary and secondary rounds from private equity funds led by Creador, Newquest Capital Partners and TR Capital.

JM Financial, Bofa Securities, ICICI Securities and IIFL Securities are the lead managers to the company’s public issue. The equity shares of the company will be listed on BSE and NSE.