PremiumMumbai: Rebel Foods, best known for its cloud-kitchen brands Faasos and Behrouz Biryani, on Wednesday said it has raised ₹35 crore in debt from venture debt fund Alteria Capital.
Founded by Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Bannerjee, Rebel Foods runs 325 internet kitchens in India and has recently expanded abroad, with operations in Indonesia, Dubai and the UK.
“Alteria has been a tremendous partner in our journey of disrupting F&B on a global scale. Much of our investments go into building state-of-the-art automated kitchens and the venture debt raised by us from Alteria helped us keep our cost of capital lower than equity raise. It has given us a significantly longer runway on our equity funding," CEO Barman said in a statement.
Alteria is investing from its ₹960 crore first fund, and its portfolio includes scooter rental startup Vogo, generic drugs retailer Generico and hyperlocal on-demand delivery firm Dunzo, among others.
Venture debt as an asset class has risen sharply in the last few years, with companies using debt to buy assets, dilute less equity, create a longer runway etc.
“Having known Jaydeep and the team at Rebel for many years now, we have witnessed the phenomenal growth as well as successful diversification of brands adopted by the company. The overseas strategy is well timed as it allows for better efficiency and the business has a robust Indian base," said Vinod Murali, managing partner at Alteria.
Rebel is currently valued at about $500 million, having last raised $120 million in equity in 2019. Its investors include hedge fund Coatue Management, Goldman Sachs and Sequoia Capital, among others.
