US multinational General Mills craves stake in Balaji Wafers, too

Mumbai: US multinational General Mills Inc is in talks to buy into Balaji Wafers, joining other suitors including PepsiCo, ITC Ltd and several private equity firms eyeing a significant minority stake in one of India’s largest regional snack brands.

The Minneapolis-based owner of global brands such as Pillsbury and Betty Crocker has approached Balaji’s founders for a deal that could give it a majority holding, though the promoters are currently willing to sell only a 10% stake, two people with direct knowledge of the discussions said on condition of anonymity. General Mills did not respond to ET's query until press time Wednesday.

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Balaji Wafers said it is in talks with multiple players but discussions are still at an early stage. “We are insisting that the fundraise is just about bringing in professional management and not money to support the business,” Chandu Virani, Balaji’s founder, told ET in his first public confirmation of the stake sale process.

“We are sitting on cash reserves and don’t intend to sell out. The funds raised will be put in the family trust and will not be used for the company’s operations,” he said. The company is also considering an initial public offering (IPO).

“The goal is to bring in strategic investors who can guide us, bring operational efficiency like global companies, and help us prepare for an IPO,” Virani said. “Even Tata and Reliance had approached us many months ago, but we don't want to cede control even at a higher valuation.”

He said the new generation in the family is open to bringing in strategic capital and scale up. Balaji is considering divesting the stake at an estimated valuation of nearly Rs 40,000 crore and the process of shortlisting potential buyers should be completed in another three months, people cited above said.

The company, which started as a supplier of snacks at a movie theatre in Rajkot four decades ago in 1982, has grown into afirm with Rs 6,500 crore in annual sales and a net profit of nearly Rs 1,000 crore in 2024-25. Balaji Wafers is by far the market leader in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, with about 65% share in the organised market for products such as potato chips, namkeen, and bhujia across these states.

Despite its limited geographic presence, Balaji is the third-largest salty snack player in India, trailing only Haldiram’s and PepsiCo, and credits its success to a lowcost, high-efficiency model focused on price-value, tight operational control, and minimal advertising.

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For General Mills, which has a miniscule presence in India through Pillsbury-branded flour and baking products, the deal could serve as a strategic entry into India’s highgrowth savoury snack market worth about Rs 45,000 crore.

Balaji’s low-overhead model — it spends only about 4% of revenue on advertising compared to an industry average of 8-12% — allows it to reinvest heavily in production, ensuring quality while maintaining low prices, it said. The company currently operates four manufacturing plants and plans to double that number to enable national expansion.