Famous Hyderabad Biryani Brand Paradise Acquired by Mumbai PE Fund Samara Capital

The famous Hyderabad biryani brand Paradise has a new owner in Mumbai PE fund Samara Capital. The iconic Biryani brand of all India as well as world fame has been around since 1953. The PE fund bought over almost the entire promoter stake of the company. Their first investment in Paradise Food Courts was in 2014 to the extent of Rs. 70 crore. This reached as much as 49% over the year reaching Rs. 200 crores by 2020. Samara Capital acquired a substantial part of the remaining promoter equity of the Secundrabad-based company for Rs. 562 crores recently.

The original promoter of Paradise Food Courts Ali Hemati is left with about 1% of the stake at the end of the exercise. That being stated Hemati shall continue to serve as Chairman Emeritus and provide oversight as well as mentorship to the management team. The management of Paradise has gone increasingly professional ever since Samara Capital appointed Gautam Gupta as CEO in 2016.

The story of Paradise Biryani has its genesis in the time when Hussain Hemati and Ghulam Hussain founded a café at the Paradise movie theatre in Secundrabad. Starting off as a single Biryani unit, Ali Hemati took charge in 1978 from his father. At the time of the first infusion of capital in 2014 Paradise was a six-outlet affair that metamorphosed into a corporate affair, eventually boasting of 50 outlets in 13 cities spread over 6 states. The company is looking at a hundred outlets by the end of 2022 and a possible overseas expansion over the next two years.