Akashika Foods selected to revive Maiyas

Sadananda Maiya-backed Akashika Foods has been selected by the National Company Law Tribunal’s resolution professional to resurrect the beleaguered Maiyas Beverages and Foods, sources told TOI.

MTR, Haldiram’s Kamal Agarwal and Akashika Foods, a consortium of employees, vendors and distributors of Maiyas, were in the last bout to get control of Maiyas, the food venture founded by Sadananda Maiya in 2008.

Three others – Peepul Capital, one of the investors in Maiyas, Sadananda Maiya in his personal capacity, and Sanjeev Goenka’s Guiltfree Industries – had also submitted initial bids, but stayed out of the process of submitting a resolution plan that was initiated by the committee of creditors (COC) led by Karnataka Bank in Mangaluru last week. The bank has a nearly Rs 75 crore exposure to Maiyas.

Sources told TOI that Sadananda Maiya might have backed out of the final bidding process to avoid any legal hassles. When TOI contacted his son Sudarshan Maiya, he said “Dr Maiya has decided to support Akashika Foods. If they win the bid, he will be guiding them and extending support through his knowledge, expertise and 47 years’ experience in the food processing industry.”

Text messages sent to Peepul Capital’s Deepak Mittal and Aakashika did not elicit a response till the time of going to press. MTR said the IBC (Insolvency and Banking Code) matter is in progress and so it does not want to comment on the matter.

MTR was owned by the Maiya family till they sold it to Norwegian food company Orkla in 2007. The company was said to be very keen to acquire Maiyas in order to get into new segments and revitalise its own business. MTR’s revenues are said to have been flat at a little over Rs 700 crore for several years, but crossed Rs 800 crore in 2018-19 when local competitors like Maiyas were adversely impacted.

Maiyas' products include snacks, sweets, instant mixes, spices, ready-to-eat foods and frozen foods. The Maiya family owned 40% in the company, with the rest held equally between private equity firms Peepul Capital and Ascent Capital. The company had to scale back its operations last year due to lack of funds and subsequently, with serious differences emerging between Maiya and the PE firms, had to be referred to the tribunal.

Source:-https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/food-services/akashika-foods-selected-to-revive-maiyas/68828261