Blue Planet Foods Private Ltd. will soon have a controlling share acquired by Barbeque Nation Hospitality Limited (BNHL) and Red Apple Kitchen Consultancy Pvt Ltd (Toscano).
In a combination of main and secondary investments, BNHL and Toscano will jointly purchase a 53.3% share in Blue Planet. According to Barbeque Nation, internal accruals will cover the $23.1 crore total cash outlay.
Under the trade name “Salt,” Blue Planet operates a series of a-la-carte pan-Indian restaurants. It was founded in 2013 by chefs Goutham Balasubramanium and Balaji Balachander.
Six of Blue Planet’s restaurants are now open, and two more are being built.
The Share Subscription & Share Purchase Agreement and Shareholders’ Agreement were signed by the Company and Red Apple Kitchen Consultancy Private Limited (Red Apple), a subsidiary of Blue Planet Foods Private Limited (Blue Planet), to acquire 1,282 and 4,518 equity shares, respectively, totaling 11.77% and 41.49% of Blue Planet’s paid-up share capital, according to Barbeque Nation in an exchange filing.
The planned purchase, according to the firm, would broaden Barbeque Nation’s brand portfolio while enhancing its current products.
Blue Planet will join Barbeque Nation Hospitality Limited as a subsidiary after the purchase.
Blue Planet reported sales of 32.8 crore in FY23, with margins of 10% PAT and 19.4% EBITDA.
The purchase “fits with Barbeque Nation’s strategy of brand expansion through inorganic route,” according to BNHL.
According to BNHL, the “Salt” brand has a desirable unit economics and excellent ROCE.
The average yearly sales of “Salt” are above Rs 6 crore, with an APC between 900 and 1,000.
In contrast to a profit of 16.03 crore for the same quarter of FY23, Barbeque Nation Hospitality reported a loss of 4.05 crore for the first quarter of the financial year 2023–24.
As opposed to 314.87 crore, it reported operating revenue of 323.89 crore, an increase of 2.9%.