New Delhi, Jan. 5 -- Private equity firm Apax Partners has struck its first deal in an Indian company in over a year, picking up a "significant minority" stake in ready-to-cook brand iD Fresh Food India Pvt. Ltd, known for its packaged foods, particularly its idli and dosa batter.

Apax Partners will acquire the stake from existing investors PremjiInvest and TPG NewQuest in the Bengaluru-based company founded by PC Musthafa and his four cousins in 2005. PremjiInvest and TPG NewQuest will retain a stake in the company, iD Fresh said in a statement. It didn't disclose any financial details.

Apax has picked up a 25% stake in the firm for $150 million (approximately Rs 1,354 crore), a person familiar with the matter told VCCircle.

Apax, which tends to invest in tech, services, and internet or consumer focussed companies, has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of nearly $80 billion globally. In India, Apax had last picked up around 52% in the human resource management firm GreytHR through its Apax Digital Fund II in August 2024.

The latest investment by Apax in iD Fresh will allow the firm to build capacity, broaden its product range, and enter new cities and markets, PC Musthafa, co-founder and chief executive officer of iD Fresh, was quoted as saying in a company statement.

iD Fresh will also use technology and analytics to optimise its supply chain operations, said Harjot Dhaliwal, partner and head of India at Apax.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, the statement said.

Apax Partners' investment would translate into a valuation of around Rs 5,500 crore (around $609 million) for iD Fresh Foods. This is an over 3x jump in valuation since it last raised Rs 507 crore for a 32.5% stake from NewQuest, PremjiInvest and Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd.

The direct-to-consumer brand has had a strong run with its earnings in 2024-25. VCCircle's data and research platform VCCEdge showed that iD Fresh's net profit saw a sharp rise to Rs 50.8 crores in FY25, which was a year-on-year turnaround by a multiple of 10. After running losses, it had just posted a net profit of Rs 4.56 crore in FY24.

Consolidated revenue from operations in FY25 rose 22% to Rs 681.4 crore. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of the company jumped to around Rs 42 crores, from Rs 19 crores recorded the previous year. EBITDA margins too nearly doubled to over 6%.

The fundraising transaction values iD Fresh at a revenue multiple of over 8x its FY25 topline.

iD Fresh had raised seed funding from VC firm Sequoia Capital India, which is now known as Peak XV Partners, in early 2014. Sequoia exited a few months later as part of the Series A round led by Helion Venture Partners. PremjiInvest joined its cap table in 2017 via a Series B investment, while NewQuest led a Rs 507-crore round of investment four years ago when Helion exited.

Following this transaction, PremjiInvest was the company's biggest shareholder with a stake of about 36.5%, followed by NewQuest with about 25.5%.

In July last year, VCCircle had reported that iD Fresh was planning a fundraise, which could potentially give an exit to some of its early investors.

iD Fresh has expanded its ready-to-eat portfolio from idli and dosa batters to Indian flatbreads and accompaniments such as chutneys and sambar, and value-added dairy products.

The company has a presence in over 50 cities across India and the Gulf and employs 2,400 people, the company said.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.