Curefoods gets Sebi nod for Rs 800-crore IPO

Cloud kitchen operator Curefoods has received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its initial public offering (IPO), per a document on the markets regulator’s website.

Sebi issued the observation on Curefoods’ draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) during the week ending October 24. In Sebi’s parlance, issuing observations on a DRHP is tantamount to approving an IPO.

Curefoods had filed its draft papers to raise Rs 800 crore in primary capital through an IPO back in June. The issue will also include an offer for sale (OFS) of 48.5 million shares, through which existing investors, including Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Nordstar Partners, Iron Pillar, Alteria Capital, and Curefit Healthcare, will partially offload their stake.


Of the total fresh capital being raised, Curefoods plans to utilise Rs 152 crore for new cloud kitchens, restaurants, kiosks, and central kitchens. The bulk of this amount will be deployed towards the Krispy Kreme brand it acquired in May this year.

Another Rs 127 crore will be used to repay certain debt, while a part of the remainder will be invested in various subsidiaries to increase its shareholding.

Curefoods runs over 500 cloud kitchens across 70 cities, under brands such as Eat Fit, Nomad Pizza, Sharief Bhai Biryani, CakeZone, and Frozen Bottle.

Curefoods is the second-largest cloud kitchen firm in the country in revenue, after Temasek-backed Rebel Foods, which operates brands such as Faasos and Behrouz Biryani. Its competitors also include Box8 and Freshmenu.

Curefoods’ pre-IPO round

In September, Curefoods raised Rs 160 crore ($18 million) in a pre-IPO placement from Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal’s investment fund 3State Ventures.

3State Ventures is Curefoods’ biggest backer, and held over 17% of the company prior to this transaction. The latest investment happened at a price of Rs 124 per share, valuing Curefoods at Rs 4,000 crore (about $450 million). It had last raised $25 million from 3State Ventures as part of a larger round that valued the company at $375 million (around Rs 3,100-3,200 crore).