Sapphire Foods raises Rs 225 cr from Edelweiss PE, others

Sapphire Foods, which operates over 350 outlets of popular eating joints like KFC, Wednesday said it has raised Rs 225 crore in a round led by Edelweiss Private Equity.

The investment will be used for expansion activities, a statement said, without disclosing any details on the valuation of the 2015-incorporated company.

Sapphire is backed by a consortium of private equity funds, including Samara Capital, Goldman Sachs, CX Partners and IDI Emerging Markets, the statement said.

Sapphire operates Yum! Brands' KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell outlets in the Indian subcontinent and has drawn up "aggressive expansion plans", it said.

"This investment in Sapphire Foods is consistent with our thesis to partner with structurally high growth businesses led by strong management teams," head of Edelweiss Private Equity, Pranav Parikh said.

There are strong macro tailwinds for the quick service restaurants space in India with the onset of urbanisation and increasing preference for such food items, he added.

At present, the company directly employs 8,500 youth across the country through it restaurants.

It also has a presence in Sri Lanka and Maldives, the statement said, adding the company had started out by acquiring 250 outlets in India and Sri Lanka from multiple franchisees and Yum Restaurants.