Private equity firm Kedaara Capital is in advanced talks to buy a stake in Micro Plastics Pvt. Ltd, a contract manufacturer of toys for companies such as Walt Disney & Co. and Hasbro Inc., three people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. Veda Corporate Advisors, a boutique investment bank, is advising the company on the stake sale, said one of the three people mentioned above, adding that the company is looking to sell a significant minority stake. Talks with Kedaara are at an advanced stage, he said.
Bengaluru-based Micro Plastics, founded in 2005 by Vijendra Babu N., exports toys, model hobby kits and sport equipment to the US, UK and Europe. It also supplies high-quality plastic injection component, tooling and subassemblies to automotives, power tools, appliances, electricals, electronics, telecom and heavy engineering brands.
The company reported a revenue of ₹200 crore last year with 70% of revenue coming from exports to the US, UK and the rest of Asia. Kedaara will potentially become the first external investor in Micro Plastics.
Sunish Sharma, managing partner at Kedaara, declined to comment. Calls and an email sent to Micro Plastics went unanswered. Srikanth Narsimhan, founder and director of Veda, said: “We can neither confirm nor deny Kedaara’s involvement.”
The Economic Times reported earlier this month that private equity fund ICICI Venture Funds Management Co. Ltd is in talks to acquire a significant minority stake in Micro Plastics. The report added that Micro Plastics is looking to sell a 25-30% stake for about ₹300 crore, citing a person familiar with the matter.
If the deal goes through, this will be Kedaara Capital’s third investment in a manufacturing company, after it invested in Bill Forge, a maker of auto components, and Parsons Packaging, a carton maker. Both those investments were made in 2015.
In October, Kedaara sold its 40% stake in bottle-maker Manjushree Technopack to Advent International.
Kedaara was founded in 2011 by former Temasek Holdings Pte India head Manish Kejriwal, along with Sunish Sharma and Nishant Sharma, who were, respectively, managing director and principal of global PE firm General Atlantic in India. Last year it raised $750 million for its second fund.
Source: Mint