Jubilant FoodWorks to buy 10% stake in Barbeque Nation

Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd will invest ₹92 crore to buy a 10.76% stake in Barbeque Nation Hospitality Ltd (BNHL), which runs the popular Barbeque Nation (BBQ) chain of restaurants.

“The company will acquire 36,50,794 fully paid-up equity shares of face value of ₹5 each aggregating to 10.76% stake in BNHL,” Jubilant FoodWorks, which operates the Domino’s Pizza chain and the Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and doughnut chain in India, said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. The all-cash deal is expected to conclude by 25 January, it said.

The acquisition will offer Jubilant FoodWorks a larger play in India’s organized food services market. Jubilant FoodWorks has been expanding its presence in the dining-out market, across cuisines and formats. “We are happy to announce our investment in Barbeque Nation, a differentiated, casual dining restaurant brand of scale with strong unit economics. We are confident that the proposed investment will create value for our shareholders,” according to a statement by Shyam S. Bhartia, chairman, and Hari S. Bhartia, co-chairman, Jubilant Foodworks.

Earlier this month, the company announced the launch of a new restaurant chain selling biryani under the Ekdum! brand, capitalizing on the popularity of the rice-based dish. Biryani remains the most ordered dish across food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy. It will now also own a share in the casual dining market through the investment in Barbeque Nation.

BNHL owns and operates 138 Barbeque Nation brand of casual dining restaurants that offer over-the-table barbeque live grills for diners in 73 cities across India, besides seven restaurants overseas. It also has a presence in the Italian cuisine segment under the brand, Toscano. According to latest available data, in fiscal 2019, BNHL posted a consolidated total revenue of ₹742.5 crore and a net loss of ₹38 crore.

Earlier this year, BNHL received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial public offering, PTI reported, citing draft papers filed with Sebi.

BNHL is promoted by Sayaji Hotels Ltd, Sayaji Housekeeping Services, Kayum Dhanani, Raoof Dhanani, and Suchitra Dhanani. In November 2018, the food services company also launched UBQ by Barbeque Nation, an à la carte Indian cuisine brand in the value segment, according to a draft prospectus filed by the company in February this year.

The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, and Jubilant FoodWorks are closely related. There are, however, no promoter cross-holdings.