Gujarat-based snacks and food products manufacturer Balaji Wafers has confirmed its maiden stake dilution, agreeing to sell a 7% share to US private-equity giant General Atlantic for an estimated ₹2,500 crore. The deal, which values the company at around ₹35,000 crore, is expected to be completed within a month according to the financial press.
Founder and managing director Chandu Virani said to the business press that he had been reluctant to sell any stake in the closely held family-owned company. However, he said the decision was driven by his sensitivity to the aspirations of the younger generation in the family. Apparently, Virmani declined a buyout offer from a multinational company in 2014.
“I never wanted to sell the stake,” Virani told The Hindu Businessline’s Avinash Nair on Saturday. “Even if we try to stall the sale, how long can we stop them? If we allow them [next generation] to do what they wish, they will also learn in the process and become responsible.”
Balaji Wafers, which began as a small snack venture in a Rajkot movie theatre four decades ago, has grown into one of India’s largest regional potato chips and snacks brands, with an annual revenue of about ₹6,500 crore.
Virani said the investment from an international PE firm would help the company strengthen governance, professionalize operations, and pave the way for a potential public listing. “If an American entity comes in, it will help balance the business and make it more professional. It can also become a public limited company later and benefit the general public,” he added in his statement to Businessline.
Starting with a semi-automated plant in Rajkot’s GIDC, Balaji Wafers built a modern automated snack manufacturing plant in Rajkot in 2002, and another sizable plant in Valsad 2008. Another automated snack plant was established in Indore in 2015. The company is also associated with a modern packaging plant, Balaji Multiflex also headquartered in Rajkot.
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Naresh Khanna – 10 February 2025
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