Coca-Cola India acquires a minority 15% stake in Hashtag Loyalty

Beverage major Coca-Cola India Ltd has acquired a minority 15 per cent stake in Hashtag Loyalty, which owns the food ordering platform Thrive.

This move will help Coca-Cola to get benefitted from Thrive, which has a partnership with over 12,000 restaurants across India.

Hashtag Loyalty is an associate of the country's leading QSR chain operator Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd (JFL), which has the master franchise rights of leading brands such as Domino's Pizza, Dunkin' and Popeyes.

"Hashtag Loyalty, an associate of JFL, has entered into a securities subscription agreement dated April 17, 2023, with Coca-Cola India (New Investor) pursuant to which the new investor has acquired 15 per cent stake in Hashtag," JFL said in a regulatory update.

Hashtag has raised the capital at a pre-money valuation of Rs 104.68 crore, it added.

After this said transaction, JFL's stake in Hashtag has reduced from 35 per cent to 29.75 per cent.

In October 2021, JFL had announced the acquisition of a stake in Hashtag Loyalty. The acquisition of 35 per cent stake was completed by Jubilant Bhartia Group in March, 2022.

Other investors backing Hashtag include thinQbate and Ahimsa Capital.

Coca-Cola India, which owns popular fizz brands such as Coke and Thums Up and Minute Maid juices, will get help in increasing consumer engagement.