India’s largest homegrown coffee chain: Café Coffee Day may launch an IPO very soon, which is rumored to be valued at whopping $1 billion (roughly Rs. 5900 crore).
As per reports coming in from the Dalal Street, Café Coffee Day (CCD) has started talking with investment firms and banks regarding this IPO, which could be launched in Mumbai next year. They have already planned to draft a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
These reports are based on the inputs of three key people who are working close with this deal. They have refused to reveal their identities as of now, but the market is abuzz with this alleged rumor.
CCD was founded by Amalgamated bean coffee trading company (ABCTC), a Chicmagalur based company which grows coffee beans in their own estates of 12,000 acres. They are still Asia’s largest producer of the famed “Arabica beans”, which is exported to all over the world.
ABCTC launched CCD in 1996 by opening their first outlet in Brigade Road, Bangalore which received tremendous response. CCD became a brand, specializing in offering various flavors of coffee and expanded all over the country. As of now, they had 1650 outlets across 28 states. In addition to India, they have expanded to Pakistan, Austria and UAE.
In 2010, they acquired Café Emporio, a café chain from the Czech Republic. In the same year, CCD received venture capital from KKR, which is a private-equity firm whose owners are billionaires Henry Kravis and George Roberts. Two other private equity firms: Standard Chartered Plc’s and New York-based New Silk Route Partners also invested in CCD along with KKR.
The investors and promoters of CCD are still debating whether to list the brand Café Coffee Day or its parent company: Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company.
With the launch of US based Starbucks in 2012, CCD has certainly lost some of its dominant position in the Indian coffee beverage market. Starbucks was launched as a joint venture with Tata Group.
This IPO will certainly help CCD to get more funding to fight its competition and extend it’s lead. However, as of now, CCD’s 1650 outlets is more than all the outlets opened by its competitors in India.
We will keep you updated on this news.