Indivision India partners, the private equity arm of Future Group, is reportedly close to picking up 40-50 per cent stake in Blue Foods, which operates the Copper Chimney, Bombay Blue, Noodle Bar, Gelato Italiano, Spaghetti Kitchen and Cream Centre restaurant chains. It also has a franchise agreement with California-based Coffee Beans & Tea Leaf.
According to sources, the new promoters will merge Pan Foods Solutions — a JV between Pantaloon Retail and Blue Foods — with Blue Foods and pick up stakes in the merged entity. Blue Foods owns all the brands managed by it except Copper Chimney and Cream Centre, which are licensed to the company. The operates on a hub and spoke model with a centralised kitchen in every city that sources and stocks all raw materials required for its various restaurants.
Following the merger, Blue Foods’ promoter Sunil Kapoor would continue on the board of the new company. The new promoters will infuse funds into the business to scale up the restaurants across various Future Group and other formats.