Rebel Foods bags $210 million funding led by Temasek

MUMBAI: Rebel Foods which runs cloud kitchen brands like Behrouz Biryani, Faasos and Oven Story Pizza has raised a fresh $210 million in funding led by Singapore’s sovereign fund Temasek. The investment which comprises a mix of primary and secondary transactions values the company at $1.4 billion, unchanged from its last valuation at which it raised funding from investors a little over three years ago. The Mumbai-based startup had turned unicorn in October 2021 after investors pumped in $175 million into the company at a valuation of $1.4 billion.
Rebel Foods did not disclose the specifics of the deal but sources said that the bulk of the investment consists of secondary transactions which gave partial exits to some of the firm’s early investors. In a secondary round, a company’s shares change hands among investors and no funds are added to the firm’s coffers. The latest funding round was also backed by the firm’s existing investor Evolvence. Rebel Foods plans to use the fresh capital to expand its footprint and add more brands to its portfolio. The company which counts Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Peak XV Partners, Lightbox and Coatue among its investors has expanded into overseas markets like the UK and UAE. Jaydeep Burman, co-founder and CEO at Rebel Foods said that a portion of the funds will also be deployed to scale the brand’s omnichannel presence.
Although largely an online brand, some of the startup’s brands like Wendy’s (Rebel Foods acquired master franchisee rights for Wendy’s) and Oven Story have few physical stores and it also runs eight physical foodcourts branded as EatSure. “The funding reflects the growing investor confidence in Rebel Foods’ long-term strategy, underscoring its capability to disrupt the food service industry,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
After more than a two-year slump, deal activity in startups have picked up pace with a sizable and big-sized funding back on the table.
Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Rebel Foods on this transaction.