Bikaji Foods to launch IPO by year-end, eyes $1 bn valuation.

Sweets are the center of attraction this season and Bikaji makes it all the more special as it is to launch IPO by year-end at a valuation of $1 bn!!

It all started in Bikaner in 1937 with a small shop set up by Shivratan Agarwal, the grandson of the Haldiram’s founder, Gangabhisan ‘Haldiram’ Bhujiawala.

Over the years, his descendants spread his vision and grew the business but after a legal battle in the 1990s, they had to market the business in a diff way.

This led to the formation of Bikaji Foods International Ltd. – India which is named after Raja Bika who had founded Bikaner.

Bikaji is not just every household’s favorite but also a sweet spot for investors as in 2014, PE firm Lighthouse Funds picked up 12.5% for Rs 90 cr, valuing the company at Rs 750 cr.

Following this, other #funds like Avendus future leaders fund, IIFL Special opportunities fund (₹251 cr in 2018) also invested in a business that just started in a local town market.

Bikaji’s turnover:

•2011: ₹187 cr
•2018: ₹783 cr, grew a CAGR of over 22%!

The Indian loyalty towards Bikaji’s parent Haldiram is so much that it outpaced PepsiCo as India’s top #snacks maker when it sold products worth ₹5,532 cr in 2018!!

What triggered the #growth of the Agarwal community in Rajasthan that it could outshine world-famous companies such as PepsiCo and ITC?

Kamal Agrawal, a fourth-generation member of the Haldiram founding family said, “there is a higher sense of brand owners with an 80 yr old family #legacy which no professional company can match!”

Do you think Bikaji’s IPO is worth subscribing to? Might be good too, if you have its sweets lying at your home this Diwali 🙂