Partners Group, ChrysCapital, EQT, ITC and Goldman Sachs are in the race for a stake valued at up to ₹4,200 crore.
The company behind Crax, the corn-ring snack that has been in Indian tiffin boxes for decades, is close to getting a new owner.
Private equity firm Advent International has shortlisted Partners Group, ChrysCapital and EQT Group as possible buyers for its 96.63% stake in DFM Foods, people who know about the deal said. Consumer goods company ITC and financial services firm Goldman Sachs are also in the running.
Talks currently value DFM Foods at ₹4,000–4,200 crore. One executive said the first round of the sale is over and advanced negotiations have begun.
Some well-known bidders have dropped out. Rajkot-based Balaji Wafers, until recently a leading contender, has left the race. Advent had also approached Britannia, Marico and Lotte, but they are no longer in the contest. Many of them felt the asking price was too high.
Advent International, Partners Group and ChrysCapital declined to comment. ITC, EQT and Goldman Sachs did not reply to emails, and Balaji Wafers could not be reached.
Advent bought its stake from WestBridge Capital in 2019 for $118.8 million and took DFM Foods off the stock market in January 2023.
The business has grown under Advent. Net sales rose to ₹916 crore in FY26 from ₹705.8 crore a year earlier, according to Tracxn data based on regulatory filings. In 2023, the more than 40-year-old company hired former PepsiCo senior vice-president Vipul Prakash as chief executive. His job was to tidy up the business, add healthier snacks, and sell more through quick-commerce apps.
The DFM sale is part of a wider rush into food and beverages. A senior executive at a large bank said the category is now the biggest deal area in the consumer space. Coca-Cola and Haldiram’s are expected to go public next year, and private equity firms see a lot of room for growth.
Recent deals show how much money is coming in:
- Haldiram Snacks Food: Temasek, Alpha Wave Global, International Holding Company and L Catterton India invested last year, valuing the company at over $10 billion. L Catterton India is led by former Hindustan Unilever chief Sanjiv Mehta.
- Balaji Wafers: General Atlantic bought a 7% stake for nearly ₹2,500 crore, valuing the company at more than ₹35,000 crore.
- Iscon Balaji Foods: Advent took a minority stake in the frozen-foods maker.
India’s consumer and retail sector saw 127 deals worth $1.92 billion in the July–September quarter, according to Grant Thornton Bharat’s deal tracker. Naveen Malpani, a partner at the firm, said investors still back India’s consumption story. But they are now putting money mainly into companies with distinctive brands, a strong position in their category and the ability to grow profitably.
Crax has that kind of brand. The question now is which bidder will pay Advent’s price for it.