CCI Approves KKR's Proposal To Acquire Stake In Rebel Foods

CCI Approves KKR's Proposal To Acquire Stake In Rebel Foods

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given the green signal to the proposal of global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) to acquire a stake in home-grown company Rebel Foods.

The CCI stated, "By way of the proposed transaction, Royce proposes to acquire certain equity shares and compulsorily convertible preference shares of Rebel Foods (on a fully diluted basis) by way of a secondary purchase.”

US-based KKR will deal with the food-tech company through its affiliate Royce Asia Holdings II Pte. Founded in 2011 by Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Banerjee, Mumbai-based Rebel Foods owns Faasos, Behrouz Biryani and Oven Story and operates 450 cloud kitchens across 10 countries, including India, Indonesia, the UK and the United Arab Emirates.

The Commission’s notice read, "There are no horizontal overlaps and or vertical/complementary links between the activities of the parties (Royce Asia Holdings II and Rebel Foods) and their respective groups/affiliates, in India.

It added, "Accordingly, in the absence of any horizontally overlapping, and or vertically/complementary business activities of the parties in India, the relevant market need not be defined and may be left open as the proposed transaction will not lead to any adverse effect on competition in India. The proposed transaction is being filed under the green channel route.”

CCI Approves KKR's Stake Acquisition in Rebel Foods, Valued at USD 800-860 Million

Under this route, a transaction that does not raise any risk of an appreciable adverse effect on competition, is deemed to be approved on being intimated to the competition watchdog.

Rebel Foods’ competitors include Binny Bansal-backed Curefoods and Tiger Global-funded Eatclub. Recently, the CCI granted clearance to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings to acquire a stake in Rebel Foods.