Ajanta Pharma promoters raise ₹1,800cr to acquire Restaurant Brands Asia

Inspira Global, the closely held food business owned by the promoter family of Ajanta Pharma, has lined up ₹1,800 crore in private credit financing to fund its acquisition of a controlling stake in Restaurant Brands Asia (RBA), the master franchisee operator of Burger King in India and Indonesia.

To clarify, Ajanta Pharma Limited as a corporate entity is not party to the transaction. The deal is being driven independently by its promoters—Madhusudan Agrawal and Aayush Madhusudan Agrawal—via their family office and food and beverage infrastructure.

1. Funding Breakdown and Financial Backing

The ₹1,800 crore financing framework utilizes private credit and structured debt vehicles rather than traditional equity pools:

• Lenexis NCD Issuance: The acquisition is being channeled through Inspira’s F&B arm, Lenexis Foodworks. The company has already secured ₹1,050 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
• Primary Anchor: Wealth management and financial services firm 360 One anchored the initial ₹1,050 crore NCD portion.
• Remaining Tranche: The remaining ₹800 crore of the targeted private credit pool is scheduled to be raised and closed through the end of the month.
• Promoter Share Pledging: To secure the substantial debt facilities issued by Lenexis Foodworks and sister concern Inspira Realty, the promoters of Ajanta Pharma pledged an aggregate of 66.32 lakh equity shares (representing 5.31% of the pharma company’s share capital) in favor of CTL Trusteeship Limited.

2. Structure of the Takeover Deal

The acquisition triggers a significant restructuring of Restaurant Brands Asia’s capitalization table, shifting it from private equity backing to promoter-family strategic control:

• The Everstone Exit: The deal allows private equity firm Everstone Capital (operating via QSR Asia Pte. Ltd.) to completely exit its remaining 11.26% stake in Restaurant Brands Asia for roughly ₹460 crore.
• Capital Infusion: Beyond buying out the legacy PE backing, Inspira Global is infusing fresh capital directly into RBA to fuel long-term corporate growth. This includes a ₹900 crore preferential allotment of equity shares and an additional ₹600 crore to ₹700 crore via warrants, all priced at ₹70 per share.
• Mandatory Open Offer: Because the transaction shifts a majority controlling block of shares over to the Agrawal family, it has triggered a mandatory open offer to RBA’s public shareholders under SEBI takeover regulations.

3. Synergies in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Arena

While the Agrawal family is best known globally for building their multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical empire, they have built a substantial secondary footprint in India’s domestic food ecosystem:

• The Lenexis Portfolio: Through Lenexis Foodworks, the promoters already own and operate more than 250 quick-service locations across 45 Indian cities. Their domestic portfolio includes popular homegrown QSR chains such as Chinese Wok, Big Bowl, and The Momo Co..
• The RBA Scale: Acquiring Restaurant Brands Asia instantly gives the group control over the massive Burger King footprint across India and Indonesia.
• Management Continuity: To ensure operational stability during the integration, the incoming promoters confirmed that Restaurant Brands Asia will continue to operate with its existing leadership team, brand identity, and operational structure completely intact under Group CEO Rajeev Varman. Freshly raised capital will be heavily funneled into expanding the Burger King store network to better compete with rival franchise behemoths like Jubilant FoodWorks and Westlife Foodworld.