Theobroma owners, ICICI Venture tap banks for stake sale

Promoters and investors of Theobroma Foods have begun talks with merchant bankers for a stake sale in the 20-year-old patisserie chain, people aware of the development said.

- Suneera Tandon, Varuni Khosla Ranjani Raghavan

While two people said ICICI Venture has decided to sell its entire 42% stake for around 1,200 crore, a third person said the chain's founding family plans to exit as well. The owners expect a valuation of around 2,800 crore for the company, the people said on condition of anonymity.

Theobroma Foods Pvt. Ltd was founded by former Oberoi Hotels pastry chef Kainaz Messman. Its first pastry store opened in Mumbai's Colaba Causeway in 2004; for long, it operated as a single-outlet, family-run business.

ICICI Venture first bought a significant minority share in the food services company in 2017, committing about $20 million. The funds were allocated in two equal tranches, of which the first tranche was used to expand the brand to Delhi-NCR, and expand its presence in Mumbai and Pune.

Theobroma has since grown to become a pan-India chain of patisseries with 194 stores.