Private equity firms eye 20-22% stake in Hector Beverages ahead of 2027 IPO
PE investors 360 ONE and TR Capital are negotiating to buy a minority stake in Hector Beverages, while several early backers plan partial or full exits before the company's planned 2027 listing.
Private equity firms 360 ONE and TR Capital are among potential buyers in talks to acquire roughly a 20-22% stake held by early investors in Hector Beverages, the owner of the Paper Boat brand of traditional Indian beverages. Sources said the transaction could value the company at about Rs 2,700-3,000 crore.
Existing shareholders such as A91 Partners, which holds a 13.43% stake, and Sofina, with an 18% holding, are considering partial exits. Other early backers, including Footprint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and several angel investors, are looking to sell their entire holdings ahead of Hector Beverages' planned initial public offering in 2027. The secondary sale is intended to streamline the cap table and consolidate shareholding among the remaining large investors, according to the sources.
Avendus Capital is acting as advisor to the transaction. Lathe Investment Pte, a subsidiary of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, is the largest shareholder with a 34.97% stake, while founder Neeraj Kakkar holds 8.20%. Additional backers include Catamaran Ventures and Hillhouse Capital.
Hector Beverages reported revenue of Rs 760 crore in FY26, up 9.2% from the previous year, but EBITDA fell 50% to Rs 42 crore. The company projects revenue of Rs 1,000-1,200 crore and EBITDA of Rs 80-100 crore for FY27. The firm, founded in 2009, launched the Paper Boat brand in 2013 and has since expanded into ethnic snack items and a PET-bottled line called Zesty.
The Indian ready-to-drink beverage market is expected to double to $40 billion by 2030, driven by growing demand for functional drinks, according to a Redseer report. Analysts note that per-capita consumption of RTD drinks in India remains low compared with other major markets.