Leisure & Hospitality ADIA consortium in $5bn bid for Indian snack maker Haldiram’s By Pramod Kumar July 30, 2024, 7:26 AM REUTERS/M. Sriram Packets of snacks on the shelves inside a Haldiram's restaurant in Mumbai on September 6, 2023 A consortium that includes Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is planning a Rs400 billion ($4.8 billion) bid to acquire a majority stake in Haldiram’s, an Indian snack maker, according to a media report. The ADIA deal, if finalised, will value Haldiram’s at INR700 to 780 billion ($8.4 to $9.3 billion), Moneycontrol.com, an Indian business portal, reported, quoting informed sources. The final offer will be made after the due diligence process is completed, the report said, adding that the deal should be closed soon. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week Brand rights and control over restaurant operations will remain with the business founders. The consortium also includes US-based alternative asset manager Blackstone and GIC of Singapore. Haldiram’s manufactures and distributes 500 food products and operates in 100 countries, including the UK, US and Japan. This month, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s first budget of his third term announced the scrapping of the contentious “angel tax” and simplification of foreign direct investment rules. Brazil’s JBS to open Saudi food factory as trade ties deepen Jadwa buys 60% of Saudi chain Tikkaway Restaurants PepsiCo growth defies Middle East boycott of Western brands In her speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised that “the rules and regulations for foreign direct investment and overseas investments will be simplified”. The changes come after a 3.5 percent fall in FDI inflows into India in 2024, from $46 billion last year to $44.5 billion.